Books from the Future: The Philospher's Stone
by Gangsta Smurfette
Summary: Lily, James, Remus and Sirius read the Harry Potter books together one summer. Frist in the Books series.
1. The Letter From The Future

**BOOKS FROM THE FUTURE: THE PHILSOPHER'S STONE**

_Chapter 1: The Letter from the Future _

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**_A/N: Hey, Harry Potter fans. When I finished typing this first chapter it was 7:50 pm on Wednesday, 05 June 2013. I'll try to update as often as possible. Second chapter should be up somewhere between Tuesday and Sunday._ **

It was the summer break after their sixth year at Hogwarts when our story starts. In a mysterious chamber stood a table - not much more than a coffee table, really - and on this table was a single book. On top of this book was a single letter. The table was surrounded by comfy looking armchairs.

Suddenly, a bright flash occurred, and a red-haired girl appeared in the centre of the room. She landed soundly on her feet. Blinking, Lily Evans walked over to the table and picked up the letter. She read curiously:

_Lily Evans, _

_I hereby present you with a chance to discover the future. The book enclosed is the first novel in the Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. These events occur not too long in your future. You must read this book, before I will present you with its sequels. I'll also send you some company for this read; you'll know who they are when they reach the Chamber. Be sure to tell them why they're here. _

_I'm sorry; I cannot disclose my name for security purposes. I suggest you get to reading right away if you wish to finish all seven books. You may not leave the Chamber until you do. Food and other necessities will appear when you need them, just wish for them. _

_Signed, _

_A friend. _

Just as she finished reading the note, three bright flashes occurred and three boys were brought to the Chamber. As the unknown writer of the note said, she recognized them all: James Potter, Remus Lupin and Sirius Black.

"Where are we?" Sirius demanded as he got to his feet.

"The Chamber," Lily answered, "And before any of you ask why we're here, we're here to read this." She showed them the book. "It's a book from the future. An unknown friend has sent it to us."

"Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone," James read off the cover.

"Maybe a relation of yours," Remus suggested.

"There's no Harry in my family, Remus," James said.

"Well, Lily said it was from the future, so maybe it's one of your descendants," Remus said.

"Excuse me," Lily interrupted, "If you three want to read the book and finish the sequels, we better start reading."

"Right," the Marauders chorused.

And so they settled into the chairs in order to read. Lily said, "I'll read first." The book was opened to the first chapter.


	2. The Boy Who Lived

**BOOKS FROM THE FUTURE: THE PHILSOPHER'S STONE**

_Chapter 2: The Boy Who Lived _

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_**A/N: This chapter was completed on Sunday, 09 June 2013 at 4:30 P.M. Thank you for all who reviewed so far, and those who are following this story so long. Remember to leave feedback, even if you just tell me it's good, or if you think it sucks. Chapter 3 should be up by Tuesday this week. Chao! **_

"**Chapter 1: The Boy Who Lived,**" Lily read.

The Marauders exchanged glances, wondering about the title.

"**Mr. and Mrs. Dursley of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much.**"

"Saying you're normal is another way of saying you're abnormal," said Sirius, gaining odd looks from the rest.

"**They were the last people you'd expect to be involved in anything strange or mysterious, because they just didn't hold with such nonsense." **

"Sounds like Muggles," Lupin said.

Lily paled, "Oh, please don't let it be who I think it is."

"What's wrong?" James asked, "Who do you reckon it is?"

"My sister is dating someone called Dursley," Lily explained.

"Oh."

"**Mr. Dursley was the director of a firm call Grunnings, which made drills." **

"And drills are?" Sirius asked before the others could.

"Muggle construction tools," Lily replied.

"**He was a big, beefy man with hardly any neck, although he did have a very large moustache.**"

"Charming," James snorted.

"**Mrs. Dursley was thin and blonde and had nearly twice the usual about of neck, which came in very useful as she spent so much of her time craning over garden fences, spying on the neighbours.**"

"Sounds like Petunia, all right," Lily said.

"**The Dursleys had a small son called Dudley and in their opinion there was no finer boy anywhere.**"

The Marauders burst out laughing.

"What kind of a name is Dudley?" asked James.

"**The Dursleys had everything they wanted, but they also had a secret, and their greatest fear was that somebody would discover it. They didn't think they could bear it if anyone found out about the Potters.**"

"Hey, I take offense to that!" James cried out.

"It's my sister," Lily said for sure this time, "James asked me to marry him as soon as we're legal."

"**Mrs. Potter was Mrs. Dursley's sister, but they hadn't met for several years; in fact, Mrs. Dursley pretended she did have a sister,**"

"There's nothing wrong with Lily," James huffed, ignoring the catcalls from his best mates.

"**because her sister and her good for nothing husband,**"

"James is not a good-for-nothing, you cow," Lily scowled.

"**were as unDursleyish," **

"Not even a word," Remus mumbled.

"**as it was possible to be. The Dursleys shuddered to think what the neighbours would say if the Potters arrived in the street." **

"Lily, as soon as we're married we're walking down that street," James said.

"**The Dursleys knew that the Potters had a small son, too;" **

"Wait a go James!" Sirius cheers as Lily and James turn beet red.

"**but they had never even seen him. This boy is another good reason for keeping the Potters away; they didn't want Dudley mixing with a child like that.**"

"Oi, leave my son alone!" James yelled.

"**When Mr. and Mrs. Dursley woke up on the grey, dull Tuesday morning our story starts, there was nothing about the cloudy skies outside to suggest that strange and mysterious things would be happening all over the country. Mr Dursley hummed as he picked out his most boring tie for work,**"

"'He hummed as he picked out his most boring tie for work'?" Sirius looked horrified, "This guy needs to get a life."

"**and Mrs. Dursley gossiped away happily as she wrestled a screaming Dudley into his high chair.**"

"Charming child," said Remus.

"Oh, we barely started reading and we'll be her forever if we go on like this," Lily complained.

"**None of them noticed a large, tawny owl flutter past the window.**"

"How unobservant can someone get?" stated Sirius, then cowered under Lily's gaze.

"**At half past eight, Mr. Dursley picked up his briefcase, pecked Mrs. Dursley on the cheek, and tried to kiss Dudley goodbye but missed, because Dudley was now having a tantrum and throwing his cereal at the walls. "Little tyke," chortled Mr. Dursley as he left the house.**"

"'Little tyke'?" Sirius sounded disgusted.

"He actually is encouraging him?" James gaped, "My mother would have a fit if I acted like that."

"**He got into his car and backed out of number four's drive. It was on the corner of the street that he noticed the first sign of something peculiar – a cat reading a map.**"

"MINNIE!" cheered the Marauders.

"I wonder what she's doing there," wondered Lily.

"**For a second, Mr. Dursley didn't realize what he had seen – then he jerked his head around to look again. There was a tabby cat standing on the corner of Privet Drive, but there wasn't a map in sight. What could have been thinking of? It must have been a trick of the light. Mr. Dursley blinked and stared at the cat. It stared back. As Mr. Dursley drove around the corner and up the road, he watched the cat in his mirror. It was now reading the sign that said Privet Drive – no, **_**looking **_**at the sign; cats couldn't read maps or signs.**"

"Not if it's McGonagall," said Remus, thinking fondly of his teacher.

"**Mr. Dursley gave himself a little shake and put the cat out of his mind. As he drove toward ****he thought of nothing except a large order of drills he was hoping to get that day.**"

"One-track mind," mumbled Sirius.

"**But on the edge of town, drills were driven out of his mind by something else. As he sat in the usual morning traffic jam, he couldn't help noticing that there seemed to be a lot of strangely dressed people about. People in cloaks.**"

"That's not so strange," said James.

"In the Muggle world it is," Lily told him.

"Mr. Dursley couldn't bear people who dressed in funny clothes — the getups you saw on young people! He supposed this was some stupid new fashion. He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel and his eyes fell on a huddle of these weirdos"

"Charming," commented Remus.

"standing quite close by. They were whispering excitedly. Dursley was enraged to see that a couple of them weren't young at all; why, that man had to be older than he was, and wearing an emerald-green cloak!"

"Slytherin colours," shuddered James and Sirius. Lily and Remus rolled their eyes.

"**The nerve of him! But then it struck Mr. Dursley that this was probably some silly stunt —these people were obviously collecting for something… yes, that would be it**. **The traffic moved on and a few minutes later, Mr. Dursley arrived in the Grunnings parking lot, his mind back on drills. Mr. Dursley always sat with his back to the window in his office on the ninth floor. If he hadn't, he might have found it harder to concentrate on drills that morning. **_**He **_**didn't see the owls swooping past in broad daylight, though people down in the street did; they pointed and gazed open-mouthed as owl after owl sped overhead.**"

"Owls aren't that odd," said Sirius.

"Muggles believe they only come out in night time, Padfoot," said Remus.

"You're joking!"

"No, it's true," Lily said.

"**Most of them had never seen an owl even at night time. Mr. Dursley, however, had a perfectly normal, owl-free morning. He yelled at five different people. He made several important telephone calls and shouted a bit more.**"

"That's not very nice," said Lily.

"**He was in a very good mood until lunchtime, when he thought he'd stretch his legs and walk across the road to buy himself a bun from the bakery. He'd forgotten all about the people in cloaks until he passed a group of them next to the baker's. He eyed them angrily as he passed. He didn't know why, but they made him uneasy. This bunch were whispering excitedly, too, and he couldn't see a single collecting tin. It was on his way back past them, clutching a large doughnut in a bag, that he caught a few words of what they were saying.****"The Potters, that's right, that's what I heard —" " —yes, their son, Harry —""**

"Why are they talking about us?" wondered James.

"**Mr. Dursley stopped dead.**"

"I wish," muttered Lily. She met this man trough her sister and needless to say she didn't like him very much.

"**Fear flooded him. He looked back at the whisperers as if he wanted to say something to them, but thought better of it. He dashed back across the road, hurried up to his office, snapped at his secretary not to disturb him, seized his telephone ** **and had almost finished dialling his home number when he changed his mind. He put the receiver back down and stroked his moustache, thinking… no, he was being stupid.**"

"You got that right," Sirius said.

"**Potter wasn't such an unusual name.**"

"It's not in the Wizarding World," said James.

"**He was sure there were lots of people called Potter who had a son called Harry. Come to think of it, he wasn't even sure his nephew **_**was **_**called never even seen the boy. It might have been Harvey. Or Harold.**"

"Those are terrible names!" exclaimed Lily, "Certainly not what I would've named my son!"

"I still wonder why those people were talking about us," said James.

"You think we don't?" Sirius and Remus said in chorus.

"**There was no point in worrying Mrs. Dursley; she always got so upset at any mention of her sister. He didn't blame her — if **_**he'd **_**had a sister like that…**"

"Lily's 10000 times better than you can ever hope to be," growled James.

"Hear, hear," chorused Remus and Sirius as Lily blushed.

"**But all the same, those people in cloaks…He found it a lot harder to concentrate on drills that afternoon and when he left the building at five o'clock, he was still so worried that he walked straight into someone just outside the door.**"

"Poor guy," said James.

"**"Sorry," he grunted, as the tiny old man stumbled and almost fell.**"

Gasps of shock filled the room.

"He actually knows that word?" asked James in awe.

"**It was a few seconds before Mr. Dursley realized that the man was wearing a violet cloak. He didn't seem at all upset at being almost knocked to the ground. On the contrary, his face split into a wide smile and he said in a squeaky voice that made passers by stare, "Don't be sorry, my dear sir, for nothing could upset me today! Rejoice, for You-Know-Who has gone at last!"**"

Shocked silence filled the room for a few seconds, nobody dared move, or speak. That last bit of information was a bit hard to take in.

"H-he's gone?" Lily made out softly, "He's really _gone_?"

"It certainly seemed so," said James in the same soft tone.

"**Even Muggles like yourself should be celebrating, this happy, happy day!"****And the old man hugged Mr. Dursley around the middle and walked off.**"

"His arms fit?" asked Sirius. This response caused everyone to burst of laughing and for a while they were unable to stop.

"**Mr. Dursley stood rooted to the spot. He had been hugged by a complete stranger. He also thought he had been called a muggle, whatever that was. He was rattled. He hurried to his car and set off for home, hoping he was imagining things, which he had never hoped before, because he didn't approve of imagination.**"

"NO IMAGINATION?!" cried Sirius and he fainted.

"Oh dear," said Remus, "Looks like we've lost Padfoot!"

"Nah, we didn't," said James, smirking as he poked his best friend on the rips, "Oi, mate! Your mum's here!"

That caused Sirius to jump to his feet but upon realizing that his Mother was nowhere in sight he slumped back into his chair as Lily, James and Remus burst into laughter.

"That wasn't funny," said Sirius with a pout.

"**As he pulled into the driveway of number four, the first thing he saw—and it didn't improve his mood — was the tabby cat he'd spotted that morning. ** **It was now sitting on his garden wall. He was sure it was the same one; it had the same markings around its eyes. ** "**Shoo!" said Mr. Dursley loudly."**"

"Not going to happen," sang James and Sirius.

"**The cat didn't move. It just gave him a stern look.**"

Everyone in the room flinched, as they all had been at the receiving end of that look at some time.

"**Was this normal cat behaviour? ****Mr. Dursley wondered. Trying to pull himself together, he let himself into the house. He was still determined not to mention anything to his wife.**"

"Coward!" the past readers chorused.

"**Mrs. Dursley had had a nice, normal day. She told him over dinner all about Mrs. Next Door's problems with her daughter and how Dudley had learned a new word ("Won't!").**"

"That's nothing to be proud of," said Lily, "When I get home; I'm going to disown Petunia immediately! I don't care what my parent will think about it."

"**Mr. Dursley tried to act normally. When Dudley had been put to bed, he went into the living room in time to catch the last report on the evening news:**

""_**And finally, bird-watchers everywhere have reported that the nation's owls have been behaving very unusually today. Although owls normally hunt at night and are hardly ever seen in daylight, there have been hundreds of sightings of these birds flying in every direction since sunrise. Experts are unable to explain why the owls have suddenly changed their sleeping pattern." The newscaster allowed himself a grin. "Most mysterious. And now, over to Jim McGuffin with the weather. Going to be any more showers of owls tonight, Jim?" **_

""_**Well, Ted," said the weatherman, "I don't know about that, but it's not only the owls that have been acting oddly today. Viewers as far apart as Kent, Yorkshire, and Dundee have been phoning in to tell me that instead of the rain I promised yesterday, they've had a downpour of shooting stars! Perhaps people have been celebrating Bonfire Night early — it's not until next week, folks! But I can promise a wet night tonight."**_"

"One would think they'd been more careful," said Lily, "Muggles aren't that stupid!"

"**Mr. Dursley sat frozen in his armchair. Shooting stars all over Britain? Owls flying by daylight? Mysterious people in cloaks all over the place? And a whisper, a whisper about the Potters…Mrs. Dursley came into the living room carrying two cups of tea. It was no good. He'd have to say something to her. He cleared his throat nervously. "Er — Petunia, dear — you haven't heard from your sister lately, have you?" As he had expected, Mrs. Dursley looked shocked and angry. After all, they normally pretended she didn't have a sister.**"

Growls echoed around the room.

"**"No," she said sharply, "Why?" "Funny stuff on the news," Mr. Dursley mumbled. "Owls… shooting stars… and there were a lot of funny-looking people in town today…" "**_**So?**_**" snapped Mrs. Dursley. "Well, I just thought… maybe… it was something to do with… you know… her crowd."**"

"'Her crowd?'" echoed the Marauders.

"Magical folk," explained Lily.

"**Mrs. Dursley sipped her tea through pursed lips. Mr. Dursley wondered whether he dared tell her he'd heard the name "Potter." He decided he didn't dare. Instead he said, as casually as he could, "Their son — he'd be about Dudley's age now, wouldn't he?" **

**"I suppose so," said Mrs. Dursley stiffly.**

**"What's his name again? Howard, isn't it?"**

**"Harry. Nasty, common name, if you ask me."**"

"Oi!" James sheeted angrily while Sirius, who was sitting next to him, shrunk away from him in fear of getting hit when James finally lost it.

"**"Oh, yes," said Mr. Dursley, his heart sinking horribly. "Yes, I quite agree."****He didn't say another word on the subject as they went upstairs to bed. While Mrs. Dursley was in the bathroom, Mr. Dursley crept to the bedroom window and peered down into the front garden. The cat was still there. It was staring down Privet Drive as though it were waiting for something. **

**Was he imagining things? Could all this have anything to do with the Potters? If it did… if it got out that they were related to a pair of — well, he didn't think he could bear it.**"

"If I were related to James and Lily, I'd be proud," said Sirius.

"You mean that?" ask Lily, feeling touched.

"Yeah," Remus said, "I agree fully. You two are great people, and I'm proud to know both of you."

"Thanks, guys," James beamed, "You're the best friends anyone could ask for."

"**The Dursleys got into bed. Mrs. Dursley fell asleep quickly but Mr. Dursley lay awake, turning it all over in his mind. His last, comforting thought before he fell asleep was that even if the Potters **_**were **_**involved, there was no reason for them to come near him and Mrs. Dursley. The Potters knew very well what he and Petunia thought about them and their kind… He couldn't see how he and Petunia could get mixed up in anything that might be going on — he yawned and turned over — it couldn't affect **_**them**_…

**How very wrong he was.**"

"Duh!" said Sirius, "Why waste ink on this bloke if nothing's going to happen?"

"**Mr. Dursley might have been drifting into an uneasy sleep, but the cat on the wall outside was showing no sign of sleepiness. It was sitting as still as a statue, its eyes fixed unblinkingly on the far corner of Privet Drive. It didn't so much as quiver when a car door slammed on the next street, nor when two owls swooped overhead. In fact, it was nearly midnight before the cat moved at all.**

**A man appeared on the corner the cat had been watching, appeared so suddenly and silently you'd have thought he'd just popped out of the ground. The cat's tail twitched and its eyes narrowed.**"

"Uh-oh," said James, "Minnie's mad! Run for it!"

"**Nothing like this man had ever been seen on Privet Drive. He was tall, thin, and very old, judging by the silver of his hair and beard, which were both long enough to tuck into his belt. He was wearing long robes, a purple cloak that swept the ground, and high-heeled, buckled boots. His blue eyes were light, bright, and sparkling behind half-moon spectacles and his nose was very long and crooked, as though it had been broken at least twice.** **This man's name was Albus Dumbledore.** This man's name was Albus Dumbledore."

"Yay! It's Dumbledore!" cheered the Marauders.

"You know, this description makes him sound…feminine," said Lily.

"**Albus Dumbledore didn't seem to realize that he had just arrived in a street where everything from his name to his boots was unwelcome. He was busy rummaging in his cloak, looking for something. But he did seem to realize he was being watched, because he looked up suddenly at the cat, which was still staring at him from the other end of the street. For some reason, the sight of the cat seemed to amuse him. He chuckled and muttered, "I should have known." **

**He found what he was looking for in his inside pocket. It seemed to be a silver cigarette lighter. He flicked it open, held it up in the air, and clicked it. The nearest street lamp went out with a little pop.**"

"Cool!" chorused the Marauders.

"I want one!" said Sirius.

"Yeah, imagine all the pranks we could do!" said James.

""**He clicked it again — the next lamp flickered into darkness. Twelve times he clicked the Put-Outer, until the only lights left on the whole street were two tiny pinpricks in the distance, which were the eyes of the cat watching him. If anyone looked out of their window now, even beady-eyed Mrs. Dursley, they wouldn't be able to see anything that was happening down on the pavement. Dumbledore slipped the Put-Outer back inside his cloak and set off down the street toward number four, where he sat down on the wall next to the cat. He didn't look at it, but after a moment he spoke to it. "Fancy seeing you here, Professor McGonagall."**"

"Yeah, Minnie, what are you doing here?" asked Sirius.

"**He turned to smile at the tabby, but it had gone. Instead he was smiling at a rather severe-looking woman who was wearing square glasses exactly the shape of the markings the cat had had around its eyes. She, too, was wearing a cloak, an emerald one.**"

"More green," mumbled James.

"**Her black hair was drawn into a tight bun. She looked distinctly ruffled. "How did you know it was me?" she asked. **

**"My dear Professor, I've never seen a cat sit so stiffly."**

""**You'd be stiff if you'd been sitting on a brick wall all day," said Professor McGonagall.**

"**All day? When you could have been celebrating? I must have passed a dozen feasts and parties on my way here."**

**Professor McGonagall sniffed angrily.**"

"Danger!" chorused the Marauders.

"Oh yes, everyone's celebrating, all right," she said impatiently. "You'd think they'd be a bit more careful, but no — even the Muggles have noticed something's going on. It was on their news. She jerked her head back at the Dursleys' dark living-room window. "I heard it. Flocks of owls… shooting stars… Well, they're not completely stupid. They were bound to notice something. Shooting stars down in Kent — I'll bet that was Dedalus Diggle. He never had much sense."

"Isn't that the Hufflepuff bloke one year beneath us?" asked Remus vaguely.

"Yeah, I think so," said James, "He really doesn't have much sense.

"**"You can't blame them," said Dumbledore gently. "We've had precious little to celebrate for eleven years."**

**"I know that," said Professor McGonagall irritably. "But that's no reason to lose our heads. People are being downright careless, out on the streets in broad daylight, not even dressed in Muggle clothes, swapping rumors."**

**She threw a sharp, sideways glance at Dumbledore here, as though hoping he was going to tell her something, but he didn't, so she went on. "A fine thing it would be if, on the very day You-Know-Who seems to have disappeared at last, the Muggles found out about us all. I suppose he really **_**has **_**gone, Dumbledore?"**"

The silence in the Chamber stiffened considerably as Lily read Dumbledore's reply.

"**"It certainly seems so," said Dumbledore. "We have much to be thankful for. Would you care for a lemon drop?"**"

Still, nothing but silence echoed through the Chamber, but it was more of a relieved silence than a tense one.

"**"A **_**what**_**?"**

"**A lemon drop. They're a kind of Muggle sweet I'm rather fond of.""**

""**No, thank you," said Professor McGonagall coldly, as though she didn't think this was the moment for lemon drops. "As I say, even if You-Know-Who **_**has **_**gone —"**

"**My dear Professor, surely a sensible person like yourself can call him by his name? All this 'You-Know-Who' nonsense — for eleven years I have been trying to persuade people to call him by his proper name: **_**Voldemort**_**."**"

The occupants of the Chamber flinched.

"**Professor McGonagall flinched, but Dumbledore, who was unsticking two lemon drops, seemed not to notice. "It all gets so confusing if we keep saying 'You-Know-Who.' I have never seen any reason to be frightened of saying Voldemort's name."**

"**"I know you haven't," said Professor McGonagall, sounding half exasperated, half admiring. "But you're different. Everyone knows you're the only one You-Know- oh, all right, **_**Voldemort**_**, was frightened of."**

**"You flatter me," said Dumbledore calmly. "Voldemort had powers I will never have."**"

"That's because he's too noble to use them," said Lily.

"**Only because you're too — well —**_**noble **_**to use them."**"

"Ooh, Lils, you're turning into McGonagall," said James.

Lily stiffened in her seat, and suddenly James was sprouting a nose-bleed, "Oh no! NOT THAT HEX!"

"**It's lucky it's dark. I haven't blushed so much since Madam Pomfrey told me she liked my new earmuffs."**"

"Bad mental image," shuddered Sirius.

"**Professor McGonagall shot a sharp look at Dumbledore and said, "The owls are nothing next to the **_**rumors **_**that are flying around. You know what they're saying? About why he's disappeared? About what finally stopped him?" **

"**It seemed that Professor McGonagall had reached the point she was most anxious to discuss, the real reason she had been waiting on a cold, hard wall all day, for neither as a cat nor as a woman had she fixed Dumbledore with such a piercing stare as she did now. It was plain that whatever "everyone" was saying, she was not going to believe it until Dumbledore told her it was true. Dumbledore, however, was choosing another lemon drop and did not answer.**

**"What they're **_**saying**_**," she pressed on, "is that last night Voldemort turned up in Godric's Hollow. He went to find the Potters."**"

James and Lily paled considerably. Sirius and Lupin exchanged glances.

""**The rumor is that Lily and James Potter are — are — that they're —**_**dead."**__" _

"WHAT!"

"NO!"

The shock in both Remus and Sirius' faces was immense, but it was nothing compared about how Lily and James looked.

"What about our son?" asked James, "Did he…"

Lily shushed him, not wanting to hear him say it.

""**Dumbledore bowed his head. Professor McGonagall gasped.**

**"Lily and James… I can't believe it… I didn't want to believe it… Oh, Albus…"**"

"She at least misses me," said James weakly.

""**Dumbledore reached out and patted her on the shoulder. "I know… I know…" he said heavily.**

**Professor McGonagall's voice trembled as she went on. "That's not all. They're saying he tried to kill the Potter's son, Harry."**"

Lily let out a choked sob. James reached over and patted her back for comfort.

"**But he couldn't. He couldn't kill that little boy. No one knows why, or how, but they're saying that when he couldn't kill Harry Potter, Voldemort's power somehow broke — and that's why he's gone.**"

"Odd…" mused Remus half-heartedly.

"**Dumbledore nodded glumly.**

**It's — it's true?" faltered Professor McGonagall. "After all he's done… all the people he's killed… he couldn't kill a little boy? It's just astounding… of all the things to stop him… but how in the name of heaven did Harry survive?" **

**"We can only guess." said Dumbledore. "We may never know."**

**"Professor McGonagall pulled out a lace handkerchief and dabbed at her eyes beneath her spectacles. Dumbledore gave a great sniff as he took a golden watch from his pocket and examined it. It was a very odd watch. It had twelve hands but no numbers; instead, little planets were moving around the edge. It must have made sense to Dumbledore, though, because he put it back in his pocket and said, "Hagrid's late. I suppose it was he who told you I'd be here, by the way?"**

**"Yes," said Professor McGonagall. "And I don't suppose you're going to tell me why you're here, of all places?"**

**"I've come to bring Harry to his aunt and uncle. They're the only family he has left now."**"

"WHAT?!" shrieked Lily, "My sister and her no-good husband can't give my son what he deserves!"

James said nothing, but clutched his hands into tight fists.

"**"You don't mean – you **_**can't **_**mean the people who live **_**here**_**?" cried Professor McGonagall, jumping to her feet and pointing at number four. "Dumbledore — you can't. I've been watching them all day. You couldn't find two people who are less like us. And they've got this son — I saw him kicking his mother all the way up the street, screaming for sweets."**"

"Brat," mumbled Sirius.

""**Harry Potter come and live here!" **

"**It's the best place for him," said Dumbledore firmly. "His aunt and uncle will be able to explain everything to him when he's older. I've written them a letter."**"

"A LETTER!" Lily was practically fuming at the mouth, "A letter? You think THAT would make them understand?!"

James and Sirius moved away from the fuming witch in case she decided to hex them in her rage.

"**A letter?" repeated Professor McGonagall faintly, sitting back down on the wall. "Really, Dumbledore, you think you can explain all this in a letter? **

"**These people will never understand him! He'll be famous — a legend — I wouldn't be surprised if today was known as Harry Potter day in the future — there will be books written about Harry — every child in our world will know his name!" **

"**Exactly." said Dumbledore, looking very seriously over the top of his half-moon glasses. "It would be enough to turn any boy's head. Famous before he can walk and talk! Famous for something he won't even remember! Can you see how much better off he'll be, growing up away from all that until he's ready to take it?"**

**Professor McGonagall opened her mouth, changed her mind, swallowed, and then said, "Yes — yes, you're right, of course. But how is the boy getting here, Dumbledore?" She eyed his cloak suddenly as though she thought he might be hiding Harry underneath it."**

"Oh, he better not be!" growled Lily, glaring at the book.

"Lily, you're talking to a book," pointed out Sirius.

"**"Hagrid's bringing him."**

**"You think it —**_**wise**_**— to trust Hagrid with something as important as this?"**"

"I'd trust Hagrid with my life," said James firmly.

"**"I would trust Hagrid with my life," said Dumbledore.**"

"Oh, James, you're turning into Dumbledore!" said Sirius.

"**I'm not saying his heart isn't in the right place," said Professor McGonagall grudgingly, "but you can't pretend he's not careless. He does tend to — what was that?"**

**A low rumbling sound had broken the silence around them. It grew steadily louder as they looked up and down the street for some sign of a headlight; it swelled to a roar as they both looked up at the sky — and a huge motorcycle fell out of the air and landed on the road in front of them.**"

"COOL!" Sirius' eyes were as wide as saucers, "I want one!"

"**If the motorcycle was huge, it was nothing to the man sitting astride it. He was almost twice as tall as a normal man and at least five times as wide. He looked simply too big to be allowed, and so **_**wild**_— **long tangles of bushy black hair and beard hid most of his face, he had hands the size of trash can lids, and his feet in their leather boots were like baby dolphins. **

**In his vast, muscular arms he was holding a bundle of blankets.**

"**Hagrid," said Dumbledore, sounding relieved. "At last. And where did you get that motorcycle?"**

"**Borrowed it, Professor Dumbledore, sir," said the giant, climbing carefully off the motorcycle as he spoke. "Young Sirius Black lent it to me. I've got him, sir."**"

"That thing belongs to me?" Sirius gaped, "YES!"

"**No problems, were there?"**

**"No, sir — house was almost destroyed, but I got him out all right before the Muggles started swarmin' around. He fell asleep as we was flyin' over Bristol."**

**Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall bent forward over the bundle of blankets. Inside, just visible, was a baby boy, fast asleep. Under a tuft of jet-black hair over his forehead they could see a curiously shaped cut, like a bolt of lightning.**"

Lily and James winced at the thought that their only son would be scarred at such a young age.

"**"Is that where —?" whispered Professor McGonagall.**

**"Yes," said Dumbledore. "He'll have that scar forever."**

**"Couldn't you do something about it, Dumbledore?"**

**"Even if I could, I wouldn't. Scars can come in handy. I have one myself above my left knee that is a perfect map of the London Underground."**"

"Ah, the famous London Underground story," said Sirius with a chuckle.

"**Well — give him here, Hagrid — we'd better get this over with."**

**Dumbledore took Harry in his arms and turned toward the Dursleys' house.**

**"Could I — could I say good-bye to him, sir?" asked Hagrid. He bent his great, shaggy head over Harry and gave him what must have been a very scratchy, whiskery kiss. Then, suddenly, Hagrid let out a howl like a wounded dog. **

**"S-s-sorry," sobbed Hagrid, taking out a large, spotted handkerchief and burying his face in it. "But I c-c-can't stand it —Lily an' James dead — an' poor little Harry off ter live with Muggles…" **

**"Yes, yes, it's all very sad, but get a grip on yourself, Hagrid, or we'll be found," Professor McGonagall whispered, patting Hagrid gingerly on the arm as Dumbledore stepped over the low garden wall and walked to the front door. He laid Harry gently on the doorstep, took a letter out of his cloak, tucked it inside Harry's blankets, and then came back to the other two.**"

"HE LEFT OUR SON ON A BLOODY DOORSTEP?!" Lily's shriek filled the room yet again, "ON THE NIGHT AFTER VOLDEMORT FELL WITH DEATH EATERS STILL LOOSE?!"

"Lils, it would be in your best interest to calm yourself," Sirius leaned as far away from the raging witch as possible.

"**For a full minute the three of them stood and looked at the little bundle; Hagrid's shoulders shook, Professor McGonagall blinked furiously, and the twinkling light that usually shone from Dumbledore's eyes seemed to have gone out. **

**"Well," said Dumbledore finally, "that's that. We've no business staying here. We may as well go and join the celebrations."**

**"Yeah," said Hagrid in a very muffled voice, "I best get this bike away. G'night, Professor McGonagall — Professor Dumbledore, sir." **

**Wiping his streaming eyes on his jacket sleeve, Hagrid swung himself onto the motorcycle and kicked the engine into life; with a roar it rose into the air and off into the night.**

**"I shall see you soon, I expect, Professor McGonagall," said Dumbledore, nodding to her. Professor McGonagall blew her nose in reply.**

**Dumbledore turned and walked back down the street. On the corner he stopped and took out the silver Put-Outer. He clicked it once and twelve balls of light sped back to their street lamps so that Privet Drive glowed suddenly orange and he could make out a tabby cat slinking around the corner at the other end of the street. He could just see the bundle of blankets on the step of number four.**

**"Good luck, Harry," he murmured. He turned on his heel and with a swish of his cloak, he was gone.**"

"Apparated," mumbled James as Lily stared to calme herself down.

"**A breeze ruffled the neat hedges of Privet Drive, which lay silent and tidy under the inky sky, the very last place you would expect astonishing things to happen. Harry Potter rolled over inside his blankets without waking up. One small hand closed on the letter beside him and he slept on, not knowing he was special, not knowing he was famous, not knowing he would be woken in a few hours' time by Mrs. Dursley's scream as she opened the front door to put out the milk bottles, nor that he would spend the next few weeks being prodded and pinched by his cousin Dudley… He couldn't know that at this very moment, people meeting in secret all over the country were holding up their glasses and saying in hushed voices: "To Harry Potter — the boy who lived.**"

Lily looked up, "That's the last of this chapter. Who wants to read next?"

"I will," said Remus, and Lily handed him the book.


	3. TO MY READERS

**TO MY READERS **

* * *

_**Wednesday, 12 June 2013**_

_**3:12 P.M **_

Oh, dammit!

I know I said that the next chapter of **Books from the Future: Philosopher's Stone** would be up _yesterday_. But unfortunately some technical problems stood in the way of my writing time. Also, it's the June exams, so I have been spending a lot of time on studying. To sum it up, I just didn't have the time to write.

However, I had found the time to write this note for the noble readers following my story, and have started on the next chapter. It should be up before Sunday.

Sorry again for this slight delay. Say, to keep you guys fired up, I'll give you a slight sneaky-peak of Chapter 3.

Ciao,

Gangsta Smurfette.

* * *

**COMING UP IN CHAPTER 3: **

"**His aunt was back outside the door. **

**Are you up yet?" she demanded.**

**"Nearly," said Harry.**

**"Well, get a move on, I want you to look after the bacon."**"

"SHE MADE HIM COOK?!" shriek Lily. In an instant she waved her wand and conjured up a dummy in the form of her sister. Then she got up and proceeded to rip the dummy apart limb from limb as the rest watched in horror. She then returned to her seat and said in a much calmer voice, "Go on, Remus."

""**And don't you dare let it burn, I want everything perfect on Duddy's birthday."**"

"D-Duddy?" stuttered out Sirius over laughter, "Is this woman for real?"

"**Harry groaned.**

"**What did you say?" his aunt snapped through the door.**"

"He didn't say anything, you cow," snarled James.

"**"Nothing, nothing…"**

**Dudley's birthday — how could he have forgotten? Harry got slowly out of bed and started looking for socks. He found a pair under his bed and, after pulling a spider off one of them, put them on. Harry was used to spiders because the cupboard under the stairs was full of them and that was where he slept.**"

"THEY MADE HIM SLEEP IN A CUPBOARD?!" exploded James and Lily as Sirius and Remus snarled dangerously.


	4. The Vanishing Glass

**BOOKS FROM THE FUTURE: THE PHILSOPHER'S STONE**

_Chapter 3: The Vanishing Glass_

* * *

_**A/N: Its 11: 51 on Saturday, 15 June 2013, and I finished chapter 3 a day early. I got good news for my readers: Winter's Break starts next week and I'll be out of school for a few weeks. Thank you for hanging on for this chapter. **_

Remus took the book from Lily, and read, "**Chapter 2: The Vanishing Glass**."

"That's an odd title," said Sirius.

"**Nearly ten years had passed since the Dursleys had woken up to find their nephew on the front step, but Privet Drive had hardly changed at all.**"

"How interestingly boring," said James.

"No huge surprise there," agreed Sirius.

"**The sun rose on the same tidy front gardens and lit up the brass number four on the Dursleys' front door; it crept into their living room, which was almost exactly the same as it had been on the night when Mr. Dursley had seen that fateful news report about the owls. Only the photographs on the mantelpiece really showed how much time had passed. Ten years ago, there had been lots of pictures of what looked like a large pink beach ball wearing different coloured bonnets — but Dudley Dursley was no longer a baby, and now the photographs showed a large blond boy riding his first bicycle, on a carousel at the fair, playing a computer game with his father, being hugged and kissed by his mother. The room held no sign at all that another boy lived in the house, too.**

"Maybe he's not there anymore," hoped Lily.

**Yet Harry Potter was still there, asleep at the moment, but not for long. **

"No," said Lily in dismay.

James but his arm around his future wife in hopes of comforting her.

**His Aunt Petunia was awake and it was her shrill voice that made the first noise of the day.**

**"Up! Get up! Now!"**"

"Oh, isn't that a lovely way to start a day," said Sirius.

"**Harry woke with a start. His aunt rapped on the door again.**

**"Up!" she screeched. Harry heard her walking toward the kitchen and then the sound of the frying pan being put on the stove. He rolled onto his back and tried to remember the dream he had been having. It had been a good one. There had been a flying motorcycle in it. He had a funny feeling he'd had the same dream before.**"

"Not a dream, Harry," said Remus.

"A good memory," smiled James.

"**His aunt was back outside the door. **

**Are you up yet?" she demanded.**

**"Nearly," said Harry.**

**"Well, get a move on, I want you to look after the bacon."**"

"SHE MADE HIM COOK?!" shriek Lily. In an instant she waved her wand and conjured up a dummy in the form of her sister. Then she got up and proceeded to rip the dummy apart limb from limb as the rest watched in horror. She then returned to her seat and said in a much calmer voice, "Go on, Remus."

""**And don't you dare let it burn, I want everything perfect on Duddy's birthday."**"

"D-Duddy?" stuttered out Sirius over laughter, "Is this woman for real?"

"**Harry groaned.**

"**What did you say?" his aunt snapped through the door.**"

"He didn't say anything, you cow," snarled James.

"**"Nothing, nothing…"**

**Dudley's birthday — how could he have forgotten? Harry got slowly out of bed and started looking for socks. He found a pair under his bed and, after pulling a spider off one of them, put them on. Harry was used to spiders because the cupboard under the stairs was full of them and that was where he slept.**"

"THEY MADE HIM SLEEP IN A CUPBOARD?!" exploded James and Lily as Sirius and Remus snarled dangerously.

"**When he was dressed he went down the hall into the kitchen. The table was almost hidden beneath all Dudley's birthday presents. It looked as though Dudley had gotten the new computer he wanted, not to mention the second television and the racing bike.**

**Exactly why Dudley wanted a racing bike was a mystery to Harry, as Dudley was very fat and hated exercise — unless of course it involved punching somebody.**"

"That better not involve Harry," snarled Lily.

"**Dudley's favourite punching bag was Harry,**"

There were quite a few growls at that.

"**but he couldn't often catch him. Harry didn't look it, but he was very fast. Perhaps it had something to do with living in a dark cupboard, but Harry had always been small and skinny for his age.**"

"Ah, the Potter genes got to him," said Sirius.

"**He looked even smaller and skinnier than he really was because all he had to wear were old clothes of Dudley's, and Dudley was about four times bigger than he was. Harry had a thin face, knobby knees, black hair,**"

"Just like James," said Sirius fondly.

"**and bright green eyes.**"

"He…he got my eyes…" Lily was in awe as she tried to imagine an exact copy of James with green eyes. She found that she quite liked it. Harry James Potter…the name sounded good too. She looked up at James, "I love our son already…"

"**He wore round glasses held together with a lot of Scotch tape because of all the times Dudley had punched him on the nose.** (Insert growls here)** The only thing Harry liked about his own appearance was a very thin scar on his forehead that was shaped like a bolt of lightning. He had had it as long as he could remember, and the first question he could ever remember asking his Aunt Petunia was how he had gotten it.**

**"In the car crash when your parents died," she had said.**"

"She _lied _tohim?" Lily gasped.

"**"And don't ask questions."**"

"But then, how was my poor baby supposed to learn?" asked Lily fretfully.

"**Don't ask questions — that was the first rule for a quiet life with the Dursleys. Uncle Vernon entered the kitchen as Harry was turning over the bacon.**

**"Comb your hair!" he barked, by way of a morning greeting.**"

"That's not going to work," said Sirius laughing, "Fighting the Potter hair is a losing battle.

"**About once a week, Uncle Vernon looked over the top of his newspaper and shouted that Harry needed a haircut. Harry must have had more haircuts than the rest of the boys in his class put together, but it made no difference, his hair simply grew that way — all over the place.**

**Harry was frying eggs by the time Dudley arrived in the kitchen with his mother.**"

More growls at that. Lily buried her face in James' shoulder. She fought back her tears, for she couldn't believe what her young son was to go through without her and James to raise him. James ran his fingers through her hair in an attempt to sooth her – he was no better off than she was.

"**Harry put the plates of egg and bacon on the table, which was difficult as there wasn't much room. Dudley, meanwhile, was counting his presents. His face fell.**

**"Thirty-six," he said, looking up at his mother and father. "That's two less than last year."**"

"Spoiled brat," mumbled Lily from the crook of James' shoulder.

"**"Darling, you haven't counted Auntie Marge's present, see, it's here under this big one from Mummy and Daddy."**

**"All right, thirty-seven then," said Dudley, going red in the face. Harry, who could see a huge Dudley tantrum coming on, began wolfing down his bacon as fast as possible in case Dudley turned the table over.**

**Aunt Petunia obviously scented danger, too, because she said quickly, "And we'll buy you another two presents while we're out today. How's that, popkin? Two more presents. Is that all right?"**"

"She's _encouraging _him?" said Sirius disguised.

"**Dudley thought for a moment. It looked like hard work. Finally he said slowly, "So I'll have thirty… thirty…"**"

"Bloody hell, is he really that stupid?" said Remus.

"**"Thirty-nine, sweetums," said Aunt Petunia.**

**"Oh." Dudley sat down heavily and grabbed the nearest parcel. "All right then."**

**Uncle Vernon chuckled.**

**"Little tyke wants his money's worth, just like his father. 'Atta boy, Dudley!" He ruffled Dudley's hair**.**"**"

"Useless Muggle," said Sirius with a snarl.

"**At that moment the telephone rang and Aunt Petunia went to answer it while Harry and Uncle Vernon watched Dudley unwrap the racing bike, a video camera, a remote control airplane, sixteen new computer games, and a VCR.**

**He was ripping the paper off a gold wristwatch when Aunt Petunia came back from the telephone looking both angry and worried.**

**"Bad news, Vernon," she said. "Mrs. Figg's broken her leg. She can't take him."**"

"He has a name," Lily snarled as she lifted her head from James' shoulder.

"**She jerked her head in Harry's direction.**

**Dudley's mouth fell open in horror, but Harry's heart gave a leap. Every year on Dudley's birthday, his parents took him and a friend out for the day, to adventure parks, hamburger restaurants, or the movies. Every year, Harry was left behind with Mrs. Figg, a mad old lady who lived two streets away. Harry hated it there. The whole house smelled of cabbage and Mrs. Figg made him look at photographs of all the cats she'd ever owned.**"

"Harry James!" said Lily shocked.

"She's already sounding like a mother," said Sirius.

"**Now what?" said Aunt Petunia, looking furiously at Harry as though he'd planned this. Harry knew he ought to feel sorry that Mrs. Figg had broken her leg, but it wasn't easy when he reminded himself it would be a whole year before he had to look at Tibbles, Snowy, Mr. Paws, and Tufty again.**"

"Yes, you ought to feel sorry," lectured Lily, "At least she's nice enough to take you out of your bloody relatives' house ever now and again…"

"Lils, you're talking to a book," James said with a chuckle.

"**"We could phone Marge," Uncle Vernon suggested.**

**"Don't be silly, Vernon, she hates the boy."**

**The Dursleys often spoke about Harry like this, as though he wasn't there — or rather, as though he was something very nasty that couldn't understand them, like a slug (**More growls**). **

**"What about what's-her-name, your friend — Yvonne?"**"

"She's still friends with that prissy brat?" Lily glowered, "Yvonne's just as bad as my sister."

"**"On vacation in Majorca," snapped Aunt Petunia.**

**"You could just leave me here," Harry put in hopefully (he'd be able to watch what he wanted on television for a change and maybe even have a go on Dudley's computer).**

**Aunt Petunia looked as though she'd just swallowed a lemon.** **"And come back and find the house in ruins?" she snarled.**

**I won't blow up the house," said Harry, but they weren't listening.**

**"I suppose we could take him to the zoo," said Aunt Petunia slowly, "… and leave him in the car…"**"

"OUR SON IS **NOT **A DOG, YOU BITCH!" snarled James, causing the others to move as far away from him as possible. Lily conjured another dummy for James and they waited until he finished venting his anger.

"**Dudley began to cry loudly. In fact, he wasn't really crying — it had been years since he'd really cried — but he knew that if he screwed up his face and wailed, his mother would give him anything he wanted.**

**"Dinky Duddydums,**"

"Merlin, her nicknames have really worsened in scale," said Lily in-between giggles.

"**don't cry, Mummy won't let him spoil your special day!" she cried, flinging her arms around him.**

**"I… don't… want… him… t-t-to come!" Dudley yelled between huge, pretend sobs. "He always sp-spoils everything!" He shot Harry a nasty grin through the gap in his mother's arms.**"

"Brat," spat Remus angrily.

"**Just then, the doorbell rang — "Oh, good Lord, they're here!" said Aunt Petunia frantically — and a moment later, Dudley's best friend, Piers Polkiss, walked in with his mother.**

**Piers was a scrawny boy with a face like a rat. He was usually the one who held people's arms behind their backs while Dudley hit them. Dudley stopped pretending to cry at once.**"

"Oh no," said Sirius sarcastically, "Can't cry in front of your friends, can you?"

"**Half an hour later, Harry, who couldn't believe his luck, was sitting in the back of the Dursleys' car with Piers and Dudley, on the way to the zoo for the first time in his life. His aunt and uncle hadn't been able to think of anything else to do with him, but before they'd left, Uncle Vernon had taken Harry aside.**

**"I'm warning you," he had said, putting his large purple face right up close to Harry's (**"Get your fat hands off our son!"**), "I'm warning you now, boy — any funny business, anything at all — and you'll be in that cupboard from now until Christmas."**"

"They better not have done that," snarled Lily.

"**"I'm not going to do anything," said Harry, "honestly…"**

**But Uncle Vernon didn't believe him. No one ever did.**

**The problem was, strange things often happened around Harry and it was just no good telling the Dursleys he didn't make them happen.**"

"Accidental magic," Lily gasped, "PETUNIA KNOWS ABOUT THAT! This is so unfair! "

"**Once, Aunt Petunia, tired of Harry coming back from the barbers looking as though he hadn't been at all, had taken a pair of kitchen scissors and cut his hair so short he was almost bald except for his bangs, which she left "to hide that horrible scar." Dudley had laughed himself silly at Harry, who spent a sleepless night imagining school the next day, where he was already laughed at for his baggy clothes and taped glasses.**

**Next morning, however, he had gotten up to find his hair exactly as it had been before Aunt Petunia had sheared it off.**"

"You can't beat the Potter hair, mate," laughed Sirius, "It's a losing fight."

"**He had been given a week in his cupboard for this, even though he had tried to explain that he couldn't explain how it had grown back so quickly.**"

"HOW DARE SHE PUNISH SOMEONE FOR SOMETHING THEY CAN'T CONTROL!" fumed Lily.

"**Another time, Aunt Petunia had been trying to force him into a revolting old sweater of Dudley's (brown with orange puff balls).**"

"Ew…" said Sirius as the others chorused their agreement.

"What a disgusting sweater," Lily gaged.

"**The harder she tried to pull it over his head, the smaller it seemed to become, until finally it might have fitted a hand puppet, but certainly wouldn't fit Harry. **

**Aunt Petunia had decided it must have shrunk in the wash and, to his great relief, Harry wasn't punished**."

"That's good," said James with a smile of relief.

**On the other hand, he'd gotten into terrible trouble for being found on the roof of the school kitchens. Dudley's gang had been chasing him as usual when, as much to Harry's surprise as anyone else's, there he was sitting on the chimney.**"

"He Apparated," said Sirius.

"No," said Lily and James, "He flew."

"What?" Remus asked, confused.

"We were able to do it," said James.

"And if we could, so could Harry," said Lily.

"**The Dursleys had received a very angry letter from Harry's headmistress telling them Harry had been climbing school buildings. But all he'd tried to do (as he shouted at Uncle Vernon through the locked door of his cupboard) was jump behind the big bins outside the kitchen doors. Harry supposed that the wind must have caught him in mid-jump.**

**But today, nothing was going to go wrong. It was even worth being with Dudley and Piers to be spending the day somewhere that wasn't school, his cupboard, or Mrs. Figg's cabbage-smelling living room.**

**While he drove, Uncle Vernon complained to Aunt Petunia. He liked to complain about things: people at work, Harry, the council, Harry, the bank, and Harry were just a few of his favourite subjects. This morning, it was motorcycles.**"

"Oh you little…" Lily was furious, the insult rolling off her lips unsaid.

"**"... roaring along like maniacs, the young hoodlums," he said, as a motorcycle overtook them."**

"**I had a dream about a motorcycle," said Harry, remembering suddenly. "It was flying." **

**Uncle Vernon nearly crashed into the car in front. **

**He turned right around in his seat and yelled at Harry, his face like a gigantic beetroot with a moustache: "MOTORCYCLES DON'T FLY!" **

**Dudley and Piers sniggered.**"

"Oh, but they do," said Sirius, thinking about his future motorcycle.

""**I know they don't," said Harry. "It was only a dream.**

**But he wished he hadn't said anything. **

**If there was one thing the Dursleys hated even more than his asking questions, it was his talking about anything acting in a way it shouldn't, no matter if it was in a dream or even a cartoon - they seemed to think he might get dangerous ideas.**

**It was a very sunny Saturday and the zoo was crowded with families. **

**The Dursleys bought Dudley and Piers large chocolate ice creams at the entrance and then, because the smiling lady in the van had asked Harry what he wanted before they could hurry him away, they bought him a cheap lemon ice pop.**

**It wasn't bad, either, Harry thought, licking it as they watched a gorilla scratching its head who looked remarkably like Dudley, except that it wasn't blond.**"

There was more hysterical laughing at this.

"James," Sirius managed to say, "You son is a comic genius."

"**Harry had the best morning he'd had in a long time. **

**He was careful to walk a little way apart from the Dursleys so that Dudley and Piers, who were starting to get bored with the animals by lunchtime, wouldn't fall back on their favourite hobby of hitting him **(Guess what? More growling**). **

**They ate in the zoo restaurant, and when Dudley had a tantrum because his knickerbocker glory didn't have enough ice cream on top, Uncle Vernon bought him another one and Harry was allowed to finish the first.**

**Harry felt, afterwards, that he should have known it was all too good to last.**

**After lunch they went to the reptile house. **

**It was cool and dark in there, with lit windows all along the walls. **

**Behind the glass, all sorts of lizards and snakes were crawling and slithering over bits of wood and stone. **

**Dudley and Piers wanted to see huge, poisonous cobras and thick, man-crushing pythons. **

**Dudley quickly found the largest snake in the place. **

**It could have wrapped its body twice around Uncle Vernon's car and crushed it into a trash can-**"

"But only once around Vernon," said Sirius.

"And a quarter of the way around Dudley," said James.

"**but at the moment it didn't look in the mood. In fact, it was fast asleep.**

**Dudley stood with his nose pressed against the glass, staring at the glistening brown coils.**

**"Make it move," he whined at his father. Uncle Vernon tapped on the glass, but the snake didn't budge.**

**"Do it again," Dudley ordered. Uncle Vernon rapped the glass smartly with his knuckles, but the snake just snoozed on. **

**"This is boring," Dudley moaned. He shuffled away.**"

"See, even a snake thinks Dursley's a git," said Sirius matter-of-factly.

"**Harry moved in front of the tank and looked intently at the snake. **

**He wouldn't have been surprised if it had died of boredom itself - no company except stupid people drumming their fingers on the glass trying to disturb it all day long. **

**It was worse than having a cupboard as a bedroom, where the only visitor was Aunt Petunia hammering on the door to wake you up; at least he got to visit the rest of the house.**

**The snake suddenly opened its beady eyes. Slowly, very slowly, it raised its head until its eyes were on a level with Harry's. **

**It winked.**"

"Snakes don't wink," said Lily slowly.

"**Harry stared. Then he looked quickly around to see if anyone was watching. They weren't. He looked back at the snake and winked, too.**

**The snake jerked its head toward Uncle Vernon and Dudley, then raised its eyes to the ceiling. It gave Harry a look that said quite plainly: "I get that all the time.  
"I know," Harry murmured through the glass, though he wasn't sure the snake could hear him. "It must be really annoying."**"

"WHAT?!"

"My son's a Parselmouth?" Lily gaped, "But how?"

"I don't know, Lily," said James in a similar tone of disbelief, "I'm sure we'll find out later on."

"**The snake nodded vigorously.**

**"Where do you come from, anyway." Harry asked.**

**The snake jabbed its tail at a little sign next to the glass. Harry peered at it.**

**Boa Constrictor, Brazil.**

**"Was it nice there?" The boa constrictor jabbed its tail at the sign again and Harry read on: This specimen was bred in the zoo. "Oh, I see - so you've never been to Brazil." As the snake shook its head, a deafening shout behind Harry made both of them jump.**

**"DUDLEY! MR. DURSLEY! COME AND LOOK AT THIS SNAKE! YOU WON'T BELIEVE WHAT IT'S DOING!" Dudley came waddling toward them as fast as he could. **"

"Harry, no, don't insult penguins," Lily shook her head.

"**"Out of the way, you," he said, punching Harry in the ribs.**"

"OI! KEEP YOUR FAT HANDS OFF MY BOY!" shrieked Lily.

"**Caught by surprise, Harry fell hard on the concrete floor. **

**What came next happened so fast no one saw how it happened - one second, Piers and Dudley were leaning right up close to the glass, the next, they had leapt back with howls of horror.**"

"Ooh, what happened?" Sirius wondered.

"**Harry sat up and gasped; the glass front of the boa constrictor's tank had vanished.**"

"Oh, that explains the chapter title," laughed James, "Good one, Harry."

"**The great snake was uncoiling itself rapidly, slithering out onto the floor. People throughout the reptile house screamed and started running for the exits.**

**As the snake slid swiftly past him, Harry could have sworn a low, hissing voice said, "Brazil, here I come... Thanksss, amigo.**

**The keeper of the reptile house was in shock. "But the glass," he kept saying, "where did the glass go?"**

**The zoo director himself made Aunt Petunia a cup of strong, sweet tea while he apologized over and over again. Piers and Dudley could only gibber. As far as Harry had seen, the snake hadn't done anything except snap playfully at their heels as it passed, but by the time they were all back in Uncle Vernon's car, Dudley was telling them how it had nearly bitten off his leg, while Piers was swearing it had tried to squeeze him to death.**"

"It never did anything of the sort!" exclaimed Lily.

"Drama queens," agreed Remus.

"**But worst of all, for Harry at least, was Piers calming down enough to say, "Harry was talking to it, weren't you, Harry?"**"

"That git!" fumed Sirius.

"**Uncle Vernon waited until Piers was safely out of the house before starting on Harry. He was so angry he could hardly speak. He managed to say, "Go - cupboard - stay - no meals,"**"

"THEY STARVED HIM!" cried Lily aghast.

"**before he collapsed into a chair, and Aunt Petunia had to run and get him a large brandy.**"

"That's right," snarled James dangerously, "You enjoy yourself while my only son starves to death."

"**Harry lay in his dark cupboard much later, wishing he had a watch. He didn't know what time it was and he couldn't be sure the Dursleys were asleep yet. Until they were, he couldn't risk sneaking to the kitchen for some food.**"

"No child should steal food from their own home," snarled Lily.

"**He'd lived with the Dursleys almost ten years, ten miserable years, as long as he could remember, ever since he'd been a baby and his parents had died in that car crash.**"

Everyone in the room lowered their eyes sadly, wishing that it didn't have to be so.

"**He couldn't remember being in the car when his parents had died**. **Sometimes, when he strained his memory during long hours in his cupboard, he came up with a strange vision: a blinding flash of green light and a burning pain on his forehead.**"

"He…he shouldn't have that memory," said Lily softly, "He should've grown up with me and James. He should've had a nice home with us to care for him. He could've had a little brother or sister to play with…"

"I know, Lils," James said, squeezing her shoulder, "I wish for that too…"

"**This, he supposed, was the crash, though he couldn't imagine where all the green light came from. **

"**He couldn't remember his parents at all. His aunt and uncle never spoke about them, and of course he was forbidden to ask questions. There were no photographs of them in the house.**"

"He doesn't even know what we looked like," tears were starting to form in Lily's eyes.

Her poor son…her poor baby. At this moment she only wanted to take him in her arms and tell him that it was alright…

"**When he had been younger, Harry had dreamed and dreamed of some unknown relation coming to take him away, but it had never happened; the Dursleys were his only family. Yet sometimes he thought (or maybe hoped) that strangers in the street seemed to know him. **

**Very strange strangers they were, too. A tiny man in a violet top hat had bowed to him once while out shopping with Aunt Petunia and Dudley. After asking Harry furiously if he knew the man, Aunt Petunia had rushed them out of the shop without buying anything. A wild-looking old woman dressed all in green had waved merrily at him once on a bus. A bald man in a very long purple coat had actually shaken his hand in the street the other day and then walked away without a word. The weirdest thing about all these people was the way they seemed to vanish the second Harry tried to get a closer look. **

**At school, Harry had no one. Everybody knew that Dudley's gang hated that odd Harry Potter in his baggy old clothes and broken glasses, and nobody liked to disagree with Dudley's gang.**"

"I'd disagree with them," said James, "My son deserves so much better…"

"Well," said Remus, "Who wants to read next? That was the end of the chapter.

"I will," said Sirius, and Remus handed him the book.


	5. The Letters From No One

**BOOKS FROM THE FUTURE: THE PHILSOPHER'S STONE**

_Chapter 4: The Letters from No One_

* * *

_**A/N: This chapter was completed on 06:06 P.M Thursday, 20 June 2013. Good news everyone! I'm off school for winter's break starting tomorrow. However, the last week of the holidays would be spent at my grandparents…you'll hear from me on that subject. Thank you for being patient for Chapter 4 and Chapter 5 should be up before midweek next week. **_

"**Chapter 3: The Letters from No One,**" read Sirius, ""**The escape of the Brazilian boa constrictor earned Harry his longest-ever punishment.**"

"How long?" snarled Lily.

"**By the time he was allowed out of his cupboard again, the summer holidays had started**"

"What!" everyone snarled in disbelief.

"**and Dudley had already broken his new video camera, crashed his remote control airplane, and, first time out on his racing bike, knocked down old Mrs. Figg as she crossed Privet Drive on her crutches.**"

"Brat," spat Remus.

"**Harry was glad school was over, but there was no escaping Dudley's gang, who visited the house every single day. Piers, Dennis, Malcolm, and Gordon were all big and stupid, but as Dudley was the biggest and stupidest of the lot, he was the leader.**"

"That's twisted logic," said James, "and yet it made perfect sense."

""**The rest of them were all quite happy to join in Dudley's favourite sport: Harry Hunting (**More growls here**). This was why Harry spent as much time as possible out of the house, wandering around and thinking about the end of the holidays, where he could see a tiny ray of hope. When September came he would be going off to secondary school and, for the first time in his life, he wouldn't be with Dudley.**"

"Finally, something good," said Sirius.

""**Dudley had been accepted at Uncle Vernon's old private school, Smeltings.**"

"That poor, poor school," said James, "Two Dursleys, it's a miracle it's still standing."

"**Piers Polkiss was going there too. Harry, on the other hand, was going to Stonewall High, the local public school. Dudley thought this was very funny. ""They stuff people's heads down the toilet the first day at Stonewall," he told Harry. "Want to come upstairs and practice." **

**"No, thanks," said Harry. "The poor toilet's never had anything as horrible as your head down it - it might be sick."**"

Everyone burst out in laughter at this.

"Good one, Prongslet," said Sirius fondly.

"**Then he ran, before Dudley could work out what he'd said. **

**One day in July, Aunt Petunia took Dudley to London to buy his Smeltings uniform, leaving Harry at Mrs. Figg's. Mrs. Figg wasn't as bad as usual. It turned out she'd broken her leg tripping over one of her cats and she didn't seem quite as fond of them as before. She let Harry watch television and gave him a bit of chocolate cake that tasted as though she'd had it for several years.**"

"Ew," Lily wrinkled her nose.

"**That evening, Dudley paraded around the living room for the family in his brand-new uniform. Smeltings' boys wore maroon tailcoats, orange knickerbockers, and flat straw hats called boaters. They also carried knobbly sticks, used for hitting each other while the teachers weren't looking. **

**This was supposed to be good training for later life. **

**As he looked at Dudley in his new knickerbockers, Uncle Vernon said gruffly that it was the proudest moment of his life.**"

"Ah, you had a very exciting life, then?" said James with a roll of his eyes.

"Yeah, that's so utterly…boring," said Sirius in agreement.

""**Aunt Petunia burst into tears and said she couldn't believe it was her Ickle Dudleykins,**"

All burst out laughing at the horrible nickname.

"Oh, Tuney, where do you get these terrible nicknames from?" said Lily as she fought back giggles.

"**he looked so handsome and grown-up. Harry didn't trust himself to speak. He thought two of his ribs might already have cracked from trying not to laugh. There was a horrible smell in the kitchen the next morning when Harry went in for breakfast. It seemed to be coming from a large metal tub in the sink. He went to have a look. The tub was full of what looked like dirty rags swimming in grey water.**"

"Your son has such a way with words, James," said Remus.

Suddenly a growling noise was heard from Sirius' direction. Everyone looked at him oddly.

"What? I'm hungry," said Sirius.

"Okay, let's finish the chapter and then I'll wish for some food so that we can eat," said Lily.

"**"What's this?" he asked Aunt Petunia. Her lips tightened as they always did if he dared to ask a question. **

"**Your new school uniform," she said. Harry looked in the bowl again.**

**"Oh," he said, "I didn't realize it had to be so wet."**"

"Harry, sarcasm doesn't work on her," said Lily.

"**"Don't be stupid," snapped Aunt Petunia. "I'm dying some of Dudley's old things grey for you. It'll look just like everyone else's when I've finished."**"

"I'll bet two crates of premium fire whiskey that it won't," said James with a growl.

"**Harry seriously doubted this, but thought it best not to argue. **

**He sat down at the table and tried not to think about how he was going to look on his first day at Stonewall High - like he was wearing bits of old elephant skin, probably.**

**Dudley and Uncle Vernon came in, both with wrinkled noses because of the smell from Harry's new uniform. Uncle Vernon opened his newspaper as usual and Dudley banged his Smelting stick, which he carried everywhere, on the table.**

**They heard the click of the mail slot and flop of letters on the doormat.**

**"Get the mail, Dudley," said Uncle Vernon from behind his paper.**"

"What?" blinked Remus, "Did he actually just ask Dudley to do something?"

"THE WORLD HAS COME TO AN END!" cried James and Sirius.

"**"Make Harry get it." **

**"Get the mail, Harry."**"

"No wait, the world is right again," said James.

"**"Make Dudley get it." **

**"Poke him with your Smelting stick, Dudley." **

**Harry dodged the Smelting stick**"

"Good, he missed," said Lily.

"**and went to get the mail. Three things lay on the doormat: a postcard from Uncle Vernon's sister Marge, who was on vacation on the Isle of Wight, a brown envelope that looked like a bill, and - a letter for Harry.**

**Harry picked it up and stared at it, his heart twanging like a giant elastic band. No one, ever, in his whole life, had written to him. Who would? He had no friends,****no other relatives - he didn't belong to the library, so he'd never even got rude notes asking for books back. Yet here it was, a letter, addressed so plainly there could be no mistake: Mr. H. Potter The Cupboard under the Stairs 4 Privet Drive Little Whinging Surrey.**"

"Wait, if the cupboard was on his letter then how come no one realized what was happening?" said Lily, confused.

"**The envelope was thick and heavy, made of yellowish parchment, and the address was written in emerald-green in. There was no stamp.**"

"Muggle mail requires a stamp," said Lily before anyone could ask about it.

"**Turning the envelope over, his hand trembling, Harry saw a purple wax seal bearing a coat of arms; a lion, an eagle, a badger, and a snake surrounding a large letter H.**"

"HOGWARTS!" cheered the marauders.

Lily rolled her eyes, "Boys."

"**"Hurry up, boy!" shouted Uncle Vernon from the kitchen. "What are you doing, checking for letter bombs?" He chuckled at his own joke.**"

"That's so funny, I forgot how to laugh," said Sirius bitterly as his stomach growled again.

"**Harry went back to the kitchen, still staring at his letter. He handed Uncle Vernon the bill and the postcard, sat down, and slowly began to open the yellow envelope.**"

"No," groaned Lily, "He should've opened it in the hall."

"**Uncle Vernon ripped open the bill, snorted in disgust, and flipped over the postcard.** **"Marge's ill," he informed Aunt Petunia. "Ate a funny whelk." **

**"Dad!" said Dudley suddenly. "Dad, Harry's got something!"**"

"Git," chorused the Chamber's occupants.

"**Harry was on the point of unfolding his letter, which was written on the same heavy parchment as the envelope, when it was jerked sharply out of his hand by Uncle Vernon.**"

"Oi, give my son back his letter!" snarled James.

"**"That's mine!" said Harry, trying to snatch it back."**

**"Who'd be writing to you?" sneered Uncle Vernon, shaking the letter open with one hand and glancing at it. His face went from red to green faster than a set of traffic lights. And it didn't stop there. Within seconds it was the greyish white of old porridge.**"

Chuckles were heard at this.

"**"P-P-Petunia!" he gasped.**

**Dudley tried to grab the letter to read it, but Uncle Vernon held it high out of his reach. Aunt Petunia took it curiously and read the first line. For a moment it looked as though she might faint. She clutched her throat and made a choking noise.**

**"Vernon! Oh my goodness - Vernon!" They stared at each other, seeming to have forgotten that Harry and Dudley were still in the room. Dudley wasn't used to being ignored. He gave his father a sharp tap on the head with his Smelting stick.**"

"He did that?" gasped Lily.

"If I did that mum would sent me to bed without supper," said James.

"**"I want to read that letter," he said loudly.**

"**I want to read it," said Harry furiously, "as it's mine."**

**Get out, both of you," croaked Uncle Vernon, stuffing the letter back inside its envelope. **

**Harry didn't move.**

"**I WANT MY LETTER!" he shouted**.

"**Let me see it!" demanded Dudley.**"

"What's it got to do with the baby whale?" asked Remus furiously.

"**"OUT!" roared Uncle Vernon, and he took both Harry and Dudley by the scruffs of their necks**"

"Oi! Hands off Harry!" cried Lily and James furiously.

"**and threw them into the hall, slamming the kitchen door behind them. Harry and Dudley promptly had a furious but silent fight over who would listen at the keyhole;**"

"Harry, Harry, Harry," chants the marauders.

"**Dudley won,**"

"Oh, bummer," frowned Sirius.

"**so Harry, his glasses dangling from one ear, lay flat on his stomach to listen at the crack between door and floor.**"

"That's the best place for listening in, anyways," said Remus.

Lily looked at him, shocked. She had honestly believed he was the only marauder who had common sense.

"**"Vernon," Aunt Petunia was saying in a quivering voice, "look at the address - how could they possibly know where he sleeps. You don't think they're watching the house." **

**"Watching - spying - might be following us," muttered Uncle Vernon wildly.**"

"Why waste our time?" said James with a sneer.

"**But what should we do, Vernon. Should we write back. Tell them we don't want -" Harry could see Uncle Vernon's shiny black shoes pacing up and down the kitchen.**

**"No," he said finally. "No, we'll ignore it. If they don't get an answer... Yes, that's best... we won't do anything..."**"

"That would just make the teachers worry," said Lily.

"**"But -" **

**"I'm not having one in the house, Petunia! Didn't we swear when we took him in we'd stamp out that dangerous nonsense**."

"He better had not have hurt my boy," snarled Lily.

"**That evening when he got back from work, Uncle Vernon did something he'd never done before; he visited Harry in his cupboard.**

"**Where's my letter." said Harry, the moment Uncle Vernon had squeezed through the door. "Who's writing to me?" **

**"No one. It was addressed to you by mistake," said Uncle Vernon shortly.** "**I have burned it."**"

"Git!"

"Pig!"

"Idiot!"

"Wale!"

(_A/N: I'll leave it up to you to decide who said which insult) _

"**"It was not a mistake," said Harry angrily, "it had my cupboard on it.**"

"You tell him, Harry!" cheered Sirius.

"Uh, Sirius, I believe it implies mental health issues when you talk to a book," said Remus.

"Oh, shut up, Moony!"

"**"SILENCE!" yelled Uncle Vernon, and a couple of spiders fell from the ceiling.**

**He took a few deep breaths and then forced his face into a smile, which looked quite painful.**

**"Er - yes, Harry - about this cupboard. Your aunt and I have been thinking... you're really getting a bit big for it...****we think it might be nice if you moved into Dudley's second bedroom."**"

"Second bedroom," Lily said slowly, her eyes blazing.

"Oh Merlin, here comes trouble," James shrank away from his future wife.

"SECOND BEDROOM! THE BABY WHALE HAD A SECOND BLOODY BEDROOM AND MY SON HAD TO SLEEP UNDER THE STIARS IN THAT BLOODY CUPBOARD!"

"**"Why?" said Harry. **

**"Don't ask questions!" snapped his uncle. "Take this stuff upstairs, now." The Dursleys' house had four bedrooms:**"

"WHAT!" Lily and James yelled at the same time.

"**one for Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia, one for visitors (usually Uncle Vernon's sister, Marge), one where Dudley slept, and one where Dudley kept all the toys and things that wouldn't fit into his first bedroom.**

**It only took Harry one trip upstairs to move everything he owned from the cupboard to this room.**

**He sat down on the bed and stared around him. Nearly everything in here was broken. The month-old video camera was lying on top of a small, working tank Dudley had once driven over the next door neighbour's dog; "in the corner was Dudley's first-ever television set, which he'd put his foot through when his favourite program had been cancelled; there was a large birdcage, which had once held a parrot that Dudley had swapped at school for a real air rifle, which was up on a shelf with the end all bent because Dudley had sat on it. Other shelves were full of books. They were the only things in the room that looked as though they'd never been touched.**"

"I'd be surprised if the baby whale could actually read," huffed Remus.

"Oi, can we finish the chapter already, I'm starving!" snapped Sirius.

"**From downstairs came the sound of Dudley bawling at his mother, I don't want him in there... I need that room... make him get out..." **

**Harry sighed and stretched out on the bed. Yesterday he'd have given anything to be up here. Today he'd rather be back in his cupboard with that letter than up here without it.**

**Next morning at breakfast, everyone was rather quiet. Dudley was in shock. He'd screamed, whacked his father with his Smelting stick, been sick on purpose, kicked his mother, and thrown his tortoise through the greenhouse roof, and he still didn't have his room back.**"

"If I did any of those things, Mother would ground me till I'm 150," said Sirius.

"**Harry was thinking about this time yesterday and bitterly wishing he'd opened the letter in the hall. Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia kept looking at each other darkly.**

**When the mail arrived, Uncle Vernon, who seemed to be trying to be nice to Harry,**"

"Oh, I doubt it," Lily said darkly.

"**made Dudley go and get it. They heard him banging things with his Smelting stick all the way down the hall. Then he shouted, "There's another one! 'Mr. H. Potter, The Smallest Bedroom, 4 Privet Drive -"**"

"If he wanted to read it why yell it to the world?" asked James.

"**With a strangled cry, Uncle Vernon leapt from his seat and ran down the hall, Harry right behind him. Uncle Vernon had to wrestle Dudley to the ground to get the letter from him, which was made difficult by the fact that Harry had grabbed Uncle Vernon around the neck from behind**.

**After a minute of confused fighting, in which everyone got hit a lot by the Smelting stick, Uncle Vernon straightened up, gasping for breath, with Harry's letter clutched in his hand.  
"Go to your cupboard- I mean, your bedroom," he wheezed at Harry.**

**"Dudley - go - just go." **

**Harry walked round and round his new room. Someone knew he had moved out of his cupboard and they seemed to know he hadn't received his first letter. Surely that meant they'd try again. And this time he'd make sure they didn't fail. He had a plan**."

"Let's just hope he didn't inherit his father's non-existing luck," said Remus.

"**The repaired alarm clock rang at six o'clock the next morning. Harry turned it off quickly and dressed silently. He mustn't wake the Dursleys.**

**He stole downstairs without turning on any of the lights.**

**He was going to wait for the postman on the corner of Privet Drive and get the letters for number four first**."

"That actually isn't a bad plan," stated Lily.

"**His heart hammered as he crept across the dark hall toward the front door - Harry leapt into the air; he'd trodden on something big and squashy on the doormat - something alive!**"

"Please let it be his uncle, please, please," James mumbled under his breath.

"**Lights clicked on upstairs and to his horror Harry realized that the big, squashy something had been his uncle's face. **

**Uncle Vernon had been lying at the foot of the front door in a sleeping bag, clearly making sure that Harry didn't do exactly what he'd been trying to do. He shouted at Harry for about half an hour and then told him to go and make a cup of tea. Harry shuffled miserably off into the kitchen and by the time he got back, the mail had arrived, right into Uncle Vernon's lap.**"

"Give my boy his letters," snarled Lily.

"**Harry could see three letters addressed in green ink.**

"**I want -" he began, but Uncle Vernon was tearing the letters into pieces before his eyes. Uncle Vernon didn't go to work that day. He stayed at home and nailed up the mail slot.**

**"See," he explained to Aunt Petunia through a mouthful of nails, "if they can't deliver them they'll just give up."**"

"That's not going to work," chuckled Sirius.

"**"I'm not sure that'll work, Vernon."**"

"Finally, Tuney grows a brain," mumbled Lily.

"**"Oh, these people's minds work in strange ways, Petunia, they're not like you and me," said Uncle Vernon, trying to knock in a nail with the piece of fruitcake Aunt Petunia had just brought him.**"

"That poor fruitcake," said Sirius pityingly as his stomach growled again.

"**On Friday, no less than twelve letters arrived for Harry. As they couldn't go through the mail slot they had been pushed under the door, slotted through the sides, and a few even forced through the small window in the downstairs bathroom.**

**Uncle Vernon stayed at home again. After burning all the letters, he got out a hammer and nails and boarded up the cracks around the front and back doors so no one could go out. He hummed "Tiptoe Through the Tulips" as he worked, and jumped at small noises.**"

"Blimey, he's gone mad, hasn't he?" asked Remus in awe.

"**On Saturday, things began to get out of hand. Twenty-four letters to Harry found their way into the house, rolled up and hidden inside each of the two dozen eggs that their very confused milkman had handed Aunt Petunia through the living room window.**"

"Creative," committed James.

"**While Uncle Vernon made furious telephone calls to the post office and the dairy trying to find someone to complain to, Aunt Petunia shredded the letters in her food processor,**"

"Letter smoothie anyone?" asked Remus.

"**"Who on earth wants to talk to you this badly." Dudley asked Harry in amazement.**

**On Sunday morning, Uncle Vernon sat down at the breakfast table looking tired and rather ill, but happy.**

**"No post on Sundays," he reminded them cheerfully**"

"Huh?"

"There's no post on Sundays in the non-Magical world," said Lily.

"**as he spread marmalade on his newspapers,**"

"Yep, he's lost it," said James.

"**"no damn letters today -" Something came whizzing down the kitchen chimney as he spoke and caught him sharply on the back of the head. Next moment, thirty or forty letters came pelting out of the fireplace like bullets. The Dursleys ducked, but Harry leapt into the air trying to catch one.**

**"Out! OUT!" Uncle Vernon seized Harry around the waist and threw him into the hall.**"

"Hands off our son," snarled Lily and James.

"**When Aunt Petunia and Dudley had run out with their arms over their faces, Uncle Vernon slammed the door shut. They could hear the letters still streaming into the room, bouncing off the walls and floor.**

**"That does it," said Uncle Vernon, trying to speak calmly but pulling great tufts out of his moustache at the same time**.

**I want you all back here in five minutes ready to leave. We're going away. Just pack some clothes. No arguments!" He looked so dangerous with half his moustache missing that no one dared argue.**

**Ten minutes later they had wrenched their way through the boarded-up doors and were in the car, speeding toward the highway.  
Dudley was sniffling in the back seat; his father had hit him round the head for holding them up while he tried to pack his television, VCR, and computer in his sports bag.  
They drove. And they drove. **

**Even Aunt Petunia didn't dare ask where they were going. **

**Every now and then Uncle Vernon would take a sharp turn and drive in the opposite direction for a while. "Shake'em off... shake 'em off," he would mutter whenever he did this.**

"Again, he's lost his marbles," said James.

**They didn't stop to eat or drink all day.**

**By nightfall Dudley was howling. He'd never had such a bad day in his life. He was hungry, he'd missed five television programs he'd wanted to see, and he'd never gone so long without blowing up an alien on his computer.**"

"That's what you forced my baby to go through, your little brat," snarled Lily.

"**Uncle Vernon stopped at last outside a gloomy-looking hotel on the outskirts of a big city. Dudley and Harry shared a room with twin beds and damp, musty sheets. Dudley snored but Harry stayed awake, sitting on the windowsill, staring down at the lights of passing cars and wondering...**

**They ate stale cornflakes and cold tinned tomatoes on toast for breakfast the next day.**

**They had just finished when the owner of the hotel came over to their table.**

**'Scuse me, but is one of you Mr. H. Potter. Only I got about an 'undred of these at the front desk." She held up a letter so they could read the green ink address: Mr. H. Potter Room 17 Railview Hotel Cokeworth Harry made a grab for the letter but Uncle Vernon knocked his hand out of the way. The woman stared.**

**"I'll take them," said Uncle Vernon, standing up quickly and following her from the dining room.**

"**Wouldn't it be better just to go home, dear?" Aunt Petunia suggested timidly, hours later, but Uncle Vernon didn't seem to hear her. Exactly what he was looking for, none of them knew. He drove them into the middle of a forest, got out, looked around, shook his head, got back in the car, and off they went again. The same thing happened in the middle of a ploughed field, halfway across a suspension bridge, and at the top of a multilevel parking garage.**

**"Daddy's gone mad, hasn't he?" Dudley asked.**"

"See, even your piglet of a son noticed!" said Remus.

"**Aunt Petunia dully late that afternoon. Uncle Vernon had parked at the coast, locked them all inside the car, and disappeared.  
It started to rain. Great drops beat on the roof of the car. Dudley snivelled.**

**"It's Monday," he told his mother. "The Great Humberto's on tonight. I want to stay somewhere with a television. " Monday. This reminded Harry of something. If it was Monday - and you could usually count on Dudley to know the days the week, because of television - then tomorrow, Tuesday, was Harry's eleventh birthday.**"

"Happy birthday!" cried out everyone.

"**Of course, his birthdays were never exactly fun - last year, the Dursleys had given him a coat hanger and a pair of Uncle Vernon's old socks **(Guess what? More growling!**). **

**Still, you weren't eleven every day.**

**Uncle Vernon was back and he was smiling.**"

"Is he even capable of not forcing it?" asked Lily.

"**He was also carrying a long, thin package and didn't answer Aunt Petunia when she asked what he'd bought.**"

"Oh, that better not be what I think it is!" snarled Lily.

"**"Found the perfect place!" he said. "Come on! Everyone out!" It was very cold outside the car. Uncle Vernon was pointing at what looked like a large rock way out at sea. Perched on top of the rock was the most miserable little shack you could imagine.**"

"Right – that's absolutely perfect," said Sirius with a roll of his eyes.

**One thing was certain, there was no television in there.**

**"Storm forecast for tonight!" said Uncle Vernon gleefully, clapping his hands together. "And this gentleman's kindly agreed to lend us his boat!" A toothless old man came ambling up to them, pointing, with a rather wicked grin, at an old row boat bobbing in the iron-grey water below them.**

**"I've already got us some rations," said Uncle Vernon, "so all aboard!" It was freezing in the boat. Icy sea spray and rain crept down their necks and a chilly wind whipped their faces.**

**After what seemed like hours they reached the rock, where Uncle Vernon, slipping and sliding, led the way to the broken-down house.**

**The inside was horrible; it smelled strongly of seaweed, the wind whistled through the gaps in the wooden walls, and the fireplace was damp and empty. There were only two rooms.  
Uncle Vernon's rations turned out to be a bag of chips each and four bananas.**"

"That's not rations!" exclaimed Lily.

"**He tried to start a fire but the empty chip bags just smoked and shrivelled up. **

"**"Could do with some of those letters now, eh." he said cheerfully.  
He was in a very good mood. Obviously he thought nobody stood a chance of reaching them here in a storm to deliver mail. Harry privately agreed, though the thought didn't cheer him up at all.**"

"That won't stop us, Harry," said James, and everyone else nodded their agreements.

"**As night fell, the promised storm blew up around them. Spray from the high waves splattered the walls of the hut and a fierce wind rattled the filthy windows. Aunt Petunia found a few mouldy blankets in the second room and made up a bed for Dudley on the moth-eaten sofa. She and Uncle Vernon went off to the lumpy bed next door, and Harry was left to find the softest bit of floor he could and to curl up under the thinnest, most ragged blanket.**"

"Oh those little…" Lily called the Dursleys several colourful names which caused Remus to exclaim 'Lily!'

"**The storm raged more and more ferociously as the night went on. Harry couldn't sleep. He shivered and turned over, trying to get comfortable, his stomach rumbling with hunger.**

**Dudley's snores were drowned by the low rolls of thunder that started near midnight. The lighted dial of Dudley's watch, which was dangling over the edge of the sofa on his fat wrist, told Harry he'd be eleven in ten minutes' time. He lay and watched his birthday tick nearer, wondering if the Dursleys would remember at all, wondering where the letter writer was now.**

**Five minutes to go. Harry heard something creak outside. He hoped the roof wasn't going to fall in, although he might be warmer if it did.**

**Four minutes to go. Maybe the house in Privet Drive would be so full of letters when they got back that he'd be able to steal one somehow.  
Three minutes to go. Was that the sea, slapping hard on the rock like that. And (two minutes to go) what was that funny crunching noise. Was the rock crumbling into the sea?**"

"Harry, stop being such a pessimist," said Sirius, "You're making us feel depressed!"

"**One minute to go and he'd be eleven. Thirty seconds... twenty ... ten...  
nine - maybe he'd wake Dudley up, just to annoy him. - three... two...  
one...BOOM.**"

Everyone jumped as Sirius yelled the last bit.

"**The whole shack shivered and Harry sat bolt upright, staring at the door. Someone was outside, knocking to come in.**"

"Okay, now we can eat!" cheered Sirius, setting down the book.

"Okay, and then it's my turn to read," said James.


	6. The Keeper Of Keys

**BOOKS FROM THE FUTURE: THE PHILSOPHER'S STONE**

_Chapter 6: The Keeper Of Keys_

_**A/N: And here's chapter 6 completed on Wednesday, 26 June 2013 at 01:03 P.M. This update is brought to you by my close friend CyberOrteck, who insisted on coming over to my place this week. Hence, I had to complete this as soon as possible. Chapter 7 would be due by next Friday should there be no compilations. **_

James took the book and reads, as everyone settles back into their chairs after eating, "**Chapter 4: The Keeper of Keys.**"

"HAGRID!" exclaimed everyone happily. It was nice to hear of him after discovering all Harry had to live through with his terrible Muggle relatives.

"**BOOM.**"

Everyone jumped as James had yelled this word.

"**They knocked again. Dudley jerked awake. **

**"Where's the cannon." he said stupidly.**"

"He says everything stupidly," pointed out Sirius.

"**There was a crash behind them and Uncle Vernon came skidding into the room. He was holding a rifle in his hands - now they knew what had been in the long, thin package he had brought with them.**"

"I KNEW IT!" shrieked Lily, causing the others to cower, "WITH TWO CHILDREN THER – HOW COULD HE?!"

"**"Who's there." he shouted. "I warn you - I'm armed!" **

**There was a pause. Then - SMASH! The door was hit with such force that it swung clean off its hinges and with a deafening crash landed flat on the floor.**

**A giant of a man was standing in the doorway. His face was almost completely hidden by a long, shaggy mane of hair and a wild, tangled beard, but you could make out his eyes, glinting like black beetles under all the hair.**"

"That makes Hagrid sound a bit scary, Harry," said Remus.

"**The giant squeezed his way into the hut, stooping so that his head just brushed the ceiling. He bent down, picked up the door, and fitted it easily back into its frame. The noise of the storm outside dropped a little. He turned to look at them all.**

**"Couldn't make us a cup o' tea, could yeh. It's not been an easy journey..." He strode over to the sofa where Dudley sat frozen with fear.**

**"Budge up, yeh great lump," said the stranger.**

**Dudley squeaked and ran to hide behind his mother, who was crouching, terrified, behind Uncle Vernon.**

**"An' here's Harry!" said the giant.  
Harry looked up into the fierce, wild, shadowy face and saw that the beetle eyes were crinkled in a smile.**

**"Las' time I saw you, you was only a baby," said the giant. "Yeh look a lot like yet dad, but yeh've got yer mom's eyes." **

**Uncle Vernon made a funny rasping noise.**

"**I demand that you leave at once, sir!" he said. "You are breaking and entering!"**

**"Ah, shut up, Dursley, yeh great prune," said the giant; he reached over the back of the sofa, jerked the gun out of Uncle Vernon's hands, bent it into a knot as easily as if it had been made of rubber, and threw it into a corner of the room." **

"Good, he got rid of than gun," Lily sounded relieved.

"**Uncle Vernon made another funny noise, like a mouse being trodden on.**

**"Anyway - Harry," said the giant, turning his back on the Dursleys, "a very happy birthday to yeh. Got summat fer yeh here - I mighta sat on it at some point, but it'll taste all right."**

"Oh no," moaned Remus, "Hagrid's cooking."

James and Sirius scrunched up their faces in disgust.

"**From an inside pocket of his black overcoat he pulled a slightly squashed box. Harry opened it with trembling fingers. Inside was a large, sticky chocolate cake with Happy Birthday Harry written on it in green icing." **

"Aw, Hagrid, that's so sweet of you," cooed Lily approvingly.

"**Harry looked up at the giant. He meant to say thank you, but the words got lost on the way to his mouth, and what he said instead was, "Who are you."**"

"Harry James, remember your manners," scolded Lily.

"Lils, you're aware that you are talking to a book, are you?" chuckled James.

"**The giant chuckled.**

**"True, I haven't introduced meself. Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts."**"

Everyone cheered.

"**He held out an enormous hand and shook Harry's whole arm.**

**"What about that tea then, eh." he said, rubbing his hands together.**

**"I'd not say no ter summat stronger if yeh've got it, mind." **

**His eyes fell on the empty grate with the shrivelled chip bags in it and he snorted. He bent down over the fireplace; they couldn't see what he was doing but when he drew back a second later, there was a roaring fire there. It filled the whole damp hut with flickering light and Harry felt the warmth wash over him as though he'd sunk into a hot bath.**

**The giant sat back down on the sofa, which sagged under his weight, and began taking all sorts of things out of the pockets of his coat: a copper kettle, a squashy package of sausages, a poker, a teapot, several chipped mugs, and a bottle of some amber liquid that he took a swig from before starting to make tea.**"

"How many pockets does he have in that coat?" asked James, "I've always wondered."

"**Soon the hut was full of the sound and smell of sizzling sausage. Nobody said a thing while the giant was working, but as he slid the first six fat, juicy, slightly burntsausages from the poker, Dudley fidgeted a little. Uncle Vernon said sharply, **

**"Don't touch anything he gives you, Dudley." The giant chuckled darkly.**

**Yer great puddin' of a son don' need fattenin' anymore, Dursley, don' worry**."

Everyone chuckled.

"Good one, Hagrid," approved Remus.

"**He passed the sausages to Harry, who was so hungry he had never tasted anything so wonderful,**"

"Did he just say he thought Hagrid's cooking was wonderful?" asked James in disbelief.

"I think your son ought to be tested for insanity, James," said Sirius.

"**but he still couldn't take his eyes off the giant. Finally, as nobody seemed about to explain anything, he said, "I'm sorry, but I still don't really know who you are."**"

"At least he was more polite this time," said Lily.

"**The giant took a gulp of tea and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.**

**"Call me Hagrid," he said, "everyone does. An' like I told yeh, I'm Keeper of Keys at Hogwarts - yeh'll know all about Hogwarts, o' course."**

**"Er - no," said Harry.**

**Hagrid looked shocked.**

**"Sorry," Harry said quickly.**"

"Harry, there's nothing to be sorry for," said James, "It has more to do with your whale of an uncle and his wife."

"**"Sorry." barked Hagrid, turning to stare at the Dursleys, who shrank back into the shadows. "It' s them that should be sorry! I knew yeh weren't gettin' yer letters but I never thought yeh wouldn't even know abou' Hogwarts, fer cryin' out loud! Did yeh never wonder where yet parents learned it all." **

**"All what?" asked Harry.**

**"ALL WHAT." Hagrid thundered. "Now wait jus' one second!"**

**He had leapt to his feet. In his anger he seemed to fill the whole hut.**

**The Dursleys were cowering against the wall.**"

"As they should be," said Remus as Lily scoffed.

"**"Do you mean ter tell me," he growled at the Dursleys, "that this boy - this boy! - knows nothin' abou' - about ANYTHING." **

**Harry thought this was going a bit far. He had been to school, after all, and his marks weren't bad.**

**"I know some things," he said. "I can, you know, do maths and stuff." **

**But Hagrid simply waved his hand and said, "About our world, I mean. Your world. My world. Yer parents' world." **

**"What world?" Hagrid looked as if he was about to explode.**

**"DURSLEY!" he boomed.**

**Uncle Vernon, who had gone very pale, whispered something that sounded like "Mimblewimble."**"

"That's not even a word," Remus said angrily.

"**Hagrid stared wildly at Harry.**

**"But yeh must know about yer mom and dad," he said. "I mean, they're famous. You're famous." **

**"What. My - my mom and dad weren't famous, were they." **

**"Yeh don' know... yeh don' know..." Hagrid ran his fingers through his hair, fixing Harry with a bewildered stare.**

**"Yeh don' know what yeh are." he said finally.**

**Uncle Vernon suddenly found his voice." **

"Merlin, help us!" said Sirius in an overly-dramatic way.

"**"Stop!" he commanded. "Stop right there, sit! I forbid you to tell the boy anything!" A braver man than Vernon Dursley would have quailed under the furious look Hagrid now gave him; when Hagrid spoke, his every syllable trembled with rage.**

**"You never told him. Never told him what was in the letter Dumbledore left fer him. I was there! I saw Dumbledore leave it, Dursley! An' you've kept it from him all these years." **

**"Kept what from me." said Harry eagerly.**

**"STOP! I FORBID YOU!" yelled Uncle Vernon in panic.**"

"That won't stop Hagrid," said Lily knowingly.

"**Aunt Petunia gave a gasp of horror.**

**"Ah, go boil yet heads, both of yeh," said Hagrid. "Harry - yer a wizard."**"

"So blunt," said Lily.

"That's Hagrid for you," Sirius said fondly.

"**There was silence inside the hut. Only the sea and the whistling wind could be heard.**

**"- a what." gasped Harry.**"

"That's nothing to be ashamed of," said Lily, "I reacted the same way."

"**"A wizard, o' course," said Hagrid, sitting back down on the sofa, which groaned and sank even lower, "an' a thumpin' good'un, I'd say, once yeh've been trained up a bit. With a mum an' dad like yours, what else would yeh be. An' I reckon it's abou' time yeh read yer letter."**"

"FINALLY!" exclaimed James.

"**Harry stretched out his hand at last to take the yellowish envelope, addressed in emerald green to Mr. H. Potter, The Floor, Hut-on-the-Rock, The Sea. He pulled out the letter and read: **

_**HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY Headmaster: ALBUS DUMBLEDORE (Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards) **_

_**Dear Mr. Potter, **_

_**We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment. **_

_**Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31.  
**_**  
**_**Yours sincerely, Minerva McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress**_**.**"

"That never changes," said James.

"**Questions exploded inside Harry's head like fireworks and he couldn't decide which to ask first.**"

"At least he's able to ask questions now," Lily said softly.

"**After a few minutes he stammered, "What does it mean, they await my owl?"**

**"Gallopin' Gorgons, that reminds me," said Hagrid, clapping a hand to his forehead with enough force to knock over a cart horse, and from yet another pocket inside his overcoat he pulled an owl - a real, live, rather ruffled-looking owl –**"

"Poor owl," said Remus.

"**a long quill, and a roll of parchment.**

**With his tongue between his teeth he scribbled a note that Harry could read upside down:**"

"He's reading Hagrid's handwriting upside down?" Sirius sounded impressed, "I can barely read it right side up."

"_**Dear Professor Dumbledore, Given Harry his letter.**_

_**Taking him to buy his things tomorrow.**_

_**Weather's horrible. Hope you're Well.**_

_**Hagrid.**__" _

"Straight to the point, as always," said James.

"**Hagrid rolled up the note, gave it to the owl, which clamped it in its beak, went to the door, and threw the owl out into the storm. Then he came back and sat down as though this was as normal as talking on the telephone.**

**Harry realized his mouth was open and closed it quickly.**

**"Where was I." said Hagrid, but at that moment, Uncle Vernon, still ashen-faced but looking very angry, moved into the firelight.**

**"He's not going," he said.**"

"I'd like to see a great Muggle like you to try and stop him," said James furiously as Lily nodded firmly in agreement.

"**Hagrid grunted.**

**"I'd like ter see a great Muggle like you stop him," he said.**"

"Blimey, Prongs, you're starting to sound like Hagrid," said Remus.

"**"A what." said Harry, interested.**

**"A Muggle," said Hagrid, "it's what we call nonmagic folk like them.** **An' it's your bad luck you grew up in a family o' the biggest Muggles**"

"Both literally and metaphorically," said Lily.

"**I ever laid eyes on." **

**"We swore when we took him in we'd put a stop to that rubbish," said Uncle Vernon, "swore we'd stamp it**"

Lily whimpered a little at the reminder of her son's abuse.

"**out of him! Wizard indeed!" **

**"You knew." said Harry. "You knew I'm a - a wizard."**"

"Of course they knew!" exclaimed Lily angrily, "I can't believe it!"

"**"Knew!" shrieked Aunt Petunia suddenly. "Knew! Of course we knew! How could you not be, my dratted sister being what she was. Oh, she got a letter just like that and disappeared off to that-that school-and came home every vacation with her pockets full of frog spawn, turning teacups into rats.**"

"How?" Sirius asked.

"All muggleborns are allowed to show what they've learnt to their families once a year," said Lily.

"**I was the only one who saw her for what she was - a freak!**"

"Lily's NOT a freak!" defended James.

"**But for my mother and father, oh no, it was Lily this and Lily that, they were proud of having a witch in the family!"**"

"As they should be," said Remus.

"I second that," said Sirius in agreement.

Lily blush a little and whispered a barely audible 'thank you' to the Marauders.

"**She stopped to draw a deep breath and then went ranting on. It seemed she had been wanting to say all this for years.**"

"She probably had," said James.

"**"Then she met that Potter at school and they left and got married and had you, and of course I knew you'd be just the same, just as strange, just as - as - abnormal - and then, if you please, she went and got herself blown up and we got landed with you!"**

**Harry had gone very white. **

**As soon as he found his voice he said, "Blown up. You told me they died in a car crash!"**"

Everyone growled at the reminder of the lie.

"Hagrid's not going to like that," said Remus.

"**"CAR CRASH!" roared Hagrid, jumping up so angrily that the Dursleys scuttled back to their corner. "How could a car crash kill Lily an' James Potter. It's an outrage! A scandal! Harry Potter not knowin' his own story when every kid in our world knows his name!" **

**"But why. What happened." Harry asked urgently.**

**The anger faded from Hagrid's face. He looked suddenly anxious.**

**"I never expected this," he said, in a low, worried voice. "I had no idea, when Dumbledore told me there might be trouble gettin' hold of yeh, how much yeh didn't know. Ah, Harry, I don' know if I'm the right person ter tell yeh - but someone's gotta - yeh can't go off ter Hogwarts not knowin'"**

**He threw a dirty look at the Dursleys.**

**"Well, it's best yeh know as much as I can tell yeh - mind, I can't tell yeh everythin', it's a great myst'ry, parts of it..."**"

"Are we going to find out what happened that night?" asked Sirius and the room went quiet. The truth that Lily and James would die young was still astronomical to them.

"**He sat down, stared into the fire for a few seconds, and then said, "It begins, I suppose, with - with a person called - but it's incredible yeh don't know his name, everyone in our world knows -"**"

"He's not going to say the name," smirked Sirius.

"Two gallons says he's going to," betted James.

"You're on!" said Sirius.

"**"Who. " **

**"Well - I don' like sayin' the name if I can help it. No one does." **

**"Why not." **

**"Gulpin' gargoyles, Harry, people are still scared. Blimey, this is difficult. See, there was this wizard who went... bad. As bad as you could go. Worse. Worse than worse. His name was..." Hagrid gulped, but no words came out.**

**"Could you write it down." Harry suggested.**

**"Nah -can't spell it. All right - Voldemort. "**"

"Your son can do the impossible," said Sirius as he handed two gallons to James.

"Pleasure doing business with you," said James.

"**Hagrid shuddered. "Don' make me say it again. Anyway, this - this wizard, about twenty years ago now, started lookin' fer followers. Got 'em, too - some were afraid, some just wanted a bit o' his power, 'cause he was gettin' himself power, all right. Dark days, Harry. Didn't know who ter trust, didn't dare get friendly with strange wizards or witches... terrible things happened. He was takin' over. 'Course, some stood up to him - an' he killed 'em. Horribly. One o' the only safe places left was Hogwarts. Reckon Dumbledore's the only one You-Know-Who was afraid of.**

**Didn't dare try takin' the school, not jus' then, anyway. Now, yer mum an' dad were as good a witch an' wizard as I ever knew.**"

"Aw, thanks Hagrid," Lily beamed.

"**Head boy an' girl at Hogwarts in their day!**"

"No!" exclaimed Remus and Sirius in surprise, "Congrats, James!"

"Thanks, I guess," said James.

"**Suppose the myst'ry is why You-Know-Who never tried to get 'em on his side before... probably knew they were too close ter Dumbledore ter want anythin' ter do with the Dark Side.**"

"Of course," said James.

"**"Maybe he thought he could persuade 'em... maybe he just wanted 'em outta the way. All anyone knows is, he turned up in the village where you was all living, on Halloween ten years ago. You was just a year old.**

**He came ter yer house an' - an' -" Hagrid suddenly pulled out a very dirty, spotted handkerchief and blew his nose with a sound like a foghorn.**

**"Sorry," he said. "But it's that sad - knew yer mum an' dad, an' nicer people yeh couldn't find - anyway...You-Know-Who killed 'em. An' then - an' this the real myst'ry of the thing - he tried to kill you, too.**"

"Really!" Lily gasped, shocked.

"**Wanted ter make a clean job of it, I suppose, or maybe he just liked killin' by then. But he couldn't do it. Never wondered how you got that mark on yer forehead.**"

"What?" James paled.

"Harry survived the Killing Curse?" Lily was equally shocked.

"Looks like it," said Remus, who was just as pale as James.

"**That was no ordinary cut. That's what yeh get when a powerful, evil curse touches yeh - took care of yer mum an' dad an' yer house, even - but it didn't work on you, an' that's why yer famous, Harry. No one ever lived after he decided ter kill 'em, no one except you, an' he'd killed some o' the best witches an' wizards of the age - the McKinnons, the Bones, the Prewetts**"

"Oh, Melin," swallowed Sirius.

"**an' you was only a baby, an' you lived." Something very painful was going on in Harry's mind. As Hagrid's story came to a close, he saw again the blinding flash of green light, more clearly than he had ever remembered it before - and he remembered something else, for the first time in his life: a high, cold, cruel laugh.**"

"He remembers that?" Lily gasped, "He shouldn't be able to remember that!"

"**Hagrid was watching him sadly.**

**"Took yeh from the ruined house myself, on Dumbledore's orders. Brought yeh ter this lot..." **

**"Load of old tosh," said Uncle Vernon. Harry jumped; he had almost forgotten that the Dursleys were there. Uncle Vernon certainly seemed to have got back his courage. He was glaring at Hagrid and his fists were clenched. **

**"Now, you listen here, boy," he snarled, "I accept there's something strange about you, probably nothing a good beating**"

"YOU KEEP YOUR FAT HANDS OFF MY SON, DURSLEY!" burst out James.

"**wouldn't have cured - and as for all this about your parents, well, they were weirdos,**"

"What is he, five?" Lily asked coldly.

"**no denying it, and the world's better off without them in my opinion**"

Sirius and Remus looked murderous at those words.

"**- asked for all they got, getting mixed up with these wizarding types - just what I expected, always knew they'd come to a sticky end –"**"

"I can't believe he just said that!" exclaimed Sirius.

"**But at that moment, Hagrid leapt from the sofa and drew a battered pink umbrella from inside his coat. Pointing this at Uncle Vernon like a sword, he said, "I'm warning you, Dursley -I'm warning you - one more word... "In danger of being speared on the end of an umbrella by a bearded giant, Uncle Vernon's courage failed again; he flattened himself against the wall and fell silent.**

**"That's better," said Hagrid, breathing heavily and sitting back down on the sofa, which this time sagged right down to the floor.**

**Harry, meanwhile, still had questions to ask, hundreds of them.**"

**"But what happened to Vol-, sorry - I mean, You-Know-Who." **

**"Good question, Harry. Disappeared. Vanished. Same night he tried ter kill you. Makes yeh even more famous. That's the biggest myst'ry, see...he was gettin' more an' more powerful - why'd he go. Some say he died. Codswallop, in my opinion. Dunno if he had enough human left in him to die. Some say he's still out there, bidin' his time, like, but I don' believe it. People who was on his side came back ter ours. Some of 'em came outta kinda trances. Don't reckon they could've done if he was comin' back.**"

"That's a good point," said Lily.

"**Most of us reckon he's still out there somewhere but lost his powers.**

**Too weak to carry on. 'Cause somethin' about you finished him, Harry.**

**There was somethin' goin' on that night he hadn't counted on - I dunno what it was, no one does - but somethin' about you stumped him, all right." Hagrid looked at Harry with warmth and respect blazing in his eyes, but Harry, instead of feeling pleased and proud, felt quite sure there had been a horrible mistake. A wizard. Him. How could he possibly be. He'd spent his life being clouted by Dudley, and bullied by Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon; if he was really a wizard, why hadn't they been turned into warty toads**"

"It doesn't work quite like that, Prongslet," said Sirius.

Lily looked at Sirius, "What did you just call him?"

"Well," Sirius said, "He looks just like James, right? And we call him Prongs. So if Harry looks like him, he would be a baby Prongs. Hence, Prongslet."

Lily thought this trough, "You know, I like it."

Sirius smirked.

"**every time they'd tried to lock him in his cupboard. If he'd once defeated the greatest sorcerer in the world, how come Dudley had always been able to kick him around like a football.**

**"Hagrid," he said quietly, "I think you must have made a mistake. I don't think I can be a wizard." To his surprise, Hagrid chuckled.**

**"Not a wizard, eh. Never made things happen when you was scared or angry." Harry looked into the fire. Now he came to think about it... every odd thing that had ever made his aunt and uncle furious with him had happened when he, Harry, had been upset or angry... chased by Dudley's gang, he had somehow found himself out of their reach... dreading going to school with that ridiculous haircut, he'd managed to make it grow back... and the very last time Dudley had hit him, hadn't he got his revenge, without even realizing he was doing it. Hadn't he set a boa constrictor on him?**"

"Actually Harry you set the snake free," said James, "There's a difference."

"**Harry looked back at Hagrid, smiling, and saw that Hagrid was positively beaming at him. **

**"See." said Hagrid. "Harry Potter, not a wizard - you wait, you'll be right famous at Hogwarts." But Uncle Vernon wasn't going to give in without a fight.**

**"Haven't I told you he's not going." he hissed. "He's going to Stonewall High and he'll be grateful for it. I've read those letters and he needs all sorts of rubbish - spell books and wands and -" **

**"If he wants ter go, a great Muggle like you won't stop him," growled Hagrid. "Stop Lily an' James Potter' s son goin' ter Hogwarts! Yer mad. His name's been down ever since he was born. He's off ter the finest school of witchcraft and wizardry in the world. Seven years there and he won't know himself. He'll be with youngsters of his own sort, fer a change, an' he'll be under the greatest headmaster Hogwarts ever had Albus Dumbled-" **

**"I AM NOT PAYING FOR SOME CRACKPOT OLD FOOL TO TEACH HIM MAGIC TRICKS!" yelled Uncle Vernon.**"

"Oh, he's in for it now!" said Remus.

"**But he had finally gone too far. Hagrid seized his umbrella and whirled it over his head, **

**"NEVER," he thundered, "- INSULT- ALBUS- DUMBLEDORE- IN- FRONT- OF- ME!" **

**He brought the umbrella swishing down through the air to point at Dudley - there was a flash of violet light, a sound like a firecracker, a sharp squeal, and the next second, Dudley was dancing on the spot with his hands clasped over his fat bottom, howling in pain. When he turned his back on them, Harry saw a curly pig's tail poking through a hole in his trousers.**"

They all burst out laughing; Sirius was even rolling on the floor with laughter.

"**Uncle Vernon roared. Pulling Aunt Petunia and Dudley into the other room, he cast one last terrified look at Hagrid and slammed the door behind them.**

**"Shouldn'ta lost me temper," he said ruefully, "but it didn't work anyway. Meant ter turn him into a pig, but I suppose he was so much like a pig anyway there wasn't much left ter do."**"

Even more laughter at that.

"**He cast a sideways look at Harry under his bushy eyebrows.**

**"Be grateful if yeh didn't mention that ter anyone at Hogwarts," he said. "I'm - er - not supposed ter do magic, strictly speakin'. I was allowed ter do a bit ter follow yeh an' get yer letters to yeh an' stuff - one o' the reasons I was so keen ter take on the job" **

**"Why aren't you supposed to do magic?" asked Harry.**"

'He's too curious for his own good," said Lily with a sigh, "Just like his father."

"**"Oh, well - I was at Hogwarts meself but I - er - got expelled, ter tell yeh the truth. In me third year. They snapped me wand in half an' everything. But Dumbledore let me stay on as gamekeeper. Great man, Dumbledore." **

**"Why were you expelled?"**"

"Harry, that's too much of a personal question," said Lily.

"**"It's gettin' late and we've got lots ter do tomorrow," said Hagrid loudly. "Gotta get up ter town, get all yer books an' that." He took off his thick black coat and threw it to Harry.**

**"You can kip under that," he said. "Don' mind if it wriggles a bit, I think I still got a couple o' dormice in one o' the pockets."**

"At least it would keep him warm," said James.

"It's my turn to read again," said Lily, accepting the book as James passed it to her.


	7. Diagon Alley

**BOOKS FROM THE FUTURE: THE PHILSOPHER'S STONE**

_Chapter 7: Diagon Alley_

* * *

_**A/N**__: __**It's 06:55 P.M on Friday, 05 July 2013 and I completed yet another instalment of 'The Philospher's Stone'. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it.**_

"**Chapter 5: Diagon Alley**," read Lily.

"Yes!" Sirius and James hi-fived one another.

"**Harry woke early the next morning. Although he could tell it was daylight, he kept his eyes shut tight.**

**"It was a dream, he told himself firmly. "I dreamed a giant called Hagrid came to tell me I was going to a school for wizards. When I open my eyes I'll be at home in my cupboard."**"

"Ever so optimistic, aren't we Harry," said Remus.

"**There was suddenly a loud tapping noise.**

**And there's Aunt Petunia knocking on the door, Harry thought, his heart sinking. **

**But he still didn't open his eyes. It had been such a good dream.**"

"It's not a dream, Prongslet," said Sirius.

"**Tap. Tap. Tap.**

**"All right," Harry mumbled, "I'm getting up." He sat up and Hagrid's heavy coat fell off him. The hut was full of sunlight, the storm was over, Hagrid himself was asleep on the collapsed sofa, and there was an owl rapping its claw on the window, a newspaper held in its beak.**

**Harry scrambled to his feet, so happy he felt as though a large balloon was swelling inside him. He went straight to the window and jerked it open. The owl swooped in and dropped the newspaper on top of Hagrid, who didn't wake up. The owl then fluttered onto the floor and began to attack Hagrid's coat.**"

"Newspaper owls are vicious," said Sirius.

"You have lots of experience with that don't you?" asked James with a chuckle.

"I didn't mean to," Sirius looked horrified at some distant memory.

Remus and Lily shared a bemused look.

"**"Don't do that." Harry tried to wave the owl out of the way, but it snapped its beak fiercely at him and carried on savaging the coat.**

**"Hagrid!" said Harry loudly. "There's an owl "**

"**Pay him," Hagrid grunted into the sofa.**

**"What?" **

**"He wants payin' fer deliverin' the paper. Look in the pockets." Hagrid's coat seemed to be made of nothing but pockets - bunches of keys, slug pellets, balls of string, peppermint humbugs, teabags...finally, Harry pulled out a handful of strange-looking coins.**

**"Give him five Knuts," said Hagrid sleepily.**

**Knuts?" **

**"The little bronze ones." Harry counted out five little bronze coins, and the owl held out his leg so Harry could put the money into a small leather pouch tied to it. Then he flew off through the open window. Hagrid yawned loudly, sat up, and stretched.**"

"Why make Harry pay the owl if he's going to get up anyway?" asked Sirius, confused.

"He was trying to get Harry to learn, Sirius," answered Lily with a roll of her eyes.

"**"Best be Off, Harry, lots ter do today, gotta get up ter London an' buy all yer stuff fer school." Harry was turning over the wizard coins and looking at them. He had just thought of something that made him feel as though the happy balloon inside him had got a puncture.**"

"Oh no, not the happy balloon," said Sirius with a frown.

"**"Um - Hagrid." **

**"Mm." said Hagrid, who was pulling on his huge boots.**

**"I haven't got any money - and you heard Uncle Vernon last night ... he won't pay for me to go and learn magic."**"

"Of course you got money," James said, "Do you think your mother and I would leave you nothing?"

"**"Don't worry about that," said Hagrid, standing up and scratching his head. "D'yeh think yer parents didn't leave yeh anything." **

**"But if their house was destroyed –"**

**"They didn' keep their gold in the house, boy! Harry shuddered at the word boy. Nah, first stop fer us is Gringotts. Wizards' bank. Have a sausage, they're not bad cold - an' I wouldn' say no teh a bit o' yer birthday cake, neither." "Wizards have banks." **

**"Just the one. Gringotts. Run by goblins." Harry dropped the bit of sausage he was holding.**

**"Goblins?" **

**"Yeah - so yeh'd be mad ter try an' rob it, I'll tell yeh that. Never mess with goblins, Harry. Gringotts is the safest place in the world fer anything yeh want ter keep safe - 'cept maybe Hogwarts. As a matter o' fact, I gotta visit Gringotts anyway. Fer Dumbledore. Hogwarts business." Hagrid drew himself up proudly. "He usually gets me ter do important stuff fer him. Fetchin' you gettin' things from Gringotts - knows he can trust me, everythin'. Come on, then."**

"I'd trust Hagrid as well," said Sirius, "His heart in in the right place, even if he has a funny way of showing it."

"**Harry followed Hagrid out onto the rock. The sky was quite clear now and the sea gleamed in the sunlight. The boat Uncle Vernon had hired was still there, with a lot of water in the bottom after the storm.**

**"How did you get here." Harry asked, looking around for another boat.**

**"Flew," said Hagrid.**"

"I can't quite imagine Hagrid flying," said Remus, although he was smiling.

"**"Flew?"**

**"Yeah - but we'll go back in this. Not s'pposed ter use magic now I've got yeh." They settled down in the boat, Harry still staring at Hagrid, trying to imagine him flying.**"

The Marauders were attempting the same thing, but couldn't quite picture it.

"**"Seems a shame ter row, though," said Hagrid, giving Harry another of his sideways looks. "If I was ter - er - speed things up a bit, would yeh mind not mentionin' it at Hogwarts."**"

"Hagrid!" Lily rolled her eyes fondly.

"**"Of course not," said Harry, eager to see more magic. **

**Hagrid pulled out the pink umbrella again, tapped it twice on the side of the boat, and they sped off toward land.**

**"Why would you be mad to try and rob Gringotts." Harry asked.**

**"Spells - enchantments," said Hagrid, unfolding his newspaper as he spoke. "They say there's dragons guardin' the highsecurity vaults.**"

"Really?" asked Lily astounded.

"Yep, my cousin Bella says the Lestrange family has a dragon guarding their's," said Sirius.

"How would she know that?" asked Lily.

"She's dating Rodolphus Lestrange," said Sirius, "And he let her in on the family secrets."

"**And then yeh gotta find yer way - Gringotts is hundreds of miles under London, see. Deep under the Underground. Yeh'd die of hunger tryin' ter get out, even if yeh did manage ter get yer hands on summat." Harry sat and thought about this while Hagrid read his newspaper, the Daily Prophet. Harry had learned from Uncle Vernon that people liked to be left alone while they did this, but it was very difficult, he'd never had so many questions in his life.**

**"Ministry o' Magic messin' things up as usual," Hagrid muttered, turning the page.**"

"That's no surprise," said James, "The Ministry is almost always making thing worse than what they already are."

"**"There's a Ministry of Magic?" Harry asked, before he could stop himself.**

**"Course," said Hagrid. "They wanted Dumbledore fer Minister,**"

"What?" exclaimed Lily.

"Of course they did," said Remus, "But he'd never leave Hogwarts."

"**O 'course, but he'd never leave Hogwarts, so old Cornelius Fudge got the job. Bungler if ever there was one. So he pelts Dumbledore with owls every morning, askin' fer advice." **

**"But what does a Ministry of Magic do?"**

**"Well, their main job is to keep it from the Muggles that there's still witches an' wizards up an' down the country." **

**"Why?"**"

"He's so naïve," stated Lily with a sigh.

"**"Why? Blimey, Harry, everyone'd be wantin' magic solutions to their problems. Nah, we're best left alone." **

**At this moment the boat bumped gently into the harbour wall. Hagrid folded up his newspaper, and they clambered up the stone steps onto the street.**

**Passers-by stared a lot at Hagrid as they walked through the little town to the station. Harry couldn't blame them. Not only was Hagrid twice as tall as anyone else, he kept pointing at perfectly ordinary things like parking meters and saying loudly, "See that, Harry. Things these Muggles dream up, eh."**

**"Hagrid," said Harry, panting a bit as he ran to keep up, "did you say there are dragons at Gringotts?" **

**"Well, so they say," said Hagrid. "Crikey, I'd like a dragon." **

**"You'd like one?" **

**"Wanted one ever since I was a kid - here we go." They had reached the station. There was a train to London in five minutes' time. Hagrid, who didn't understand "Muggle money," as he called it, gave the bills to Harry so he could buy their tickets.**"

"Oh, how could anyone NOT understand Muggle money?" asked Lily, "I mean the numbers are on the notes and coins, for Merlin's sake."

"**People stared more than ever on the train. Hagrid took up two seats and sat knitting what looked like a canary-yellow circus tent.**

**"Still got yer letter, Harry." he asked as he counted stitches. Harry took the parchment envelope out of his pocket.**

**"Good," said Hagrid. "There's a list there of everything yeh need."**

**Harry unfolded a second piece of paper he hadn't noticed the night before,**"

"He probably was a bit sleepy," said James, "After all, it was after midnight – you'd be sleepy too."

"**and read: **

_**HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY **_

_**UNIFORM **_

_**First-year students will require: **_

_**1. Three sets of plain work robes (black) **_

_**2. One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear**_

_**3. One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar) **_

_**4. One winter cloak (black, silver fastenings) **_

_**Please note that all pupils' clothes should carry name tags **_

_**COURSE BOOKS **_

_**All students should have a copy of each of the following: **_

_**The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1) by Miranda Goshawk **_

_**A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot**_"

_**Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling **_

_**A Beginners' Guide to Transfiguration by Emetic Switch **_

_**One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi by Phyllida Spore **_

_**Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger **_

_**Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander **_

_**The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection by Quentin Trimble**_"

"Has anyone else but me noticed that the book titles are similar to the names of the authors?" asked Lily.

"You know what, I've never noticed that before," said Sirius in awe.

"_**OTHER EQUIPMENT**_

_**wand **_

_**cauldron (pewter, standard size 2) **_

_**set of glass or crystal phials **_

_**telescope **_

_**set of brass scales **_

_**Students may also bring an owl OR a cat OR a toad **_

_**PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICKS**_"

"That rule sucks," said Sirius.

"Agreed," said James.

"**"Can we buy all this in London." Harry wondered aloud.**

**"If yeh know where to go," said Hagrid.**

**Harry had never been to London before. Although Hagrid seemed to know where he was going, he was obviously not used to getting there in an ordinary way. He got stuck in the ticket barrier on the Underground, and complained loudly that the seats were too small and the trains too slow.**

**"I don't know how the Muggles manage without magic,"****he said as they climbed a broken-down escalator that led up to a bustling road lined with shops.**

**Hagrid was so huge that he parted the crowd easily; all Harry had to do was keep close behind him. They passed book shops and music stores, hamburger restaurants and cinemas, but nowhere that looked as if it could sell you a magic wand. This was just an ordinary street full of ordinary people. Could there really be piles of wizard gold buried miles beneath them. Were there really shops that sold spell books and broomsticks. Might this not all be some huge joke that the Dursleys had cooked up.**"

"I highly doubt that, Prongslet," said Remus.

"**If Harry hadn't known that the Dursleys had no sense of humour, he might have thought so; yet somehow, even though everything Hagrid had told him so far was unbelievable, Harry couldn't help trusting him.**"

"Hagrid's always been like that," said Lily.

"**"This is it," said Hagrid, coming to a halt, "the Leaky Cauldron. It's a famous place." It was a tiny, grubby-looking pub. If Hagrid hadn't pointed it out, Harry wouldn't have noticed it was there. The people hurrying by didn't glance at it. Their eyes slid from the big book shop on one side to the record shop on the other as if they couldn't see the Leaky Cauldron at all. In fact, Harry had the most peculiar feeling that only he and Hagrid could see it.**"

"That's because Muggles can't see it," said Remus.

"**Before he could mention this, Hagrid had steered him inside.  
For a famous place, it was very dark and shabby. A few old women were sitting in a corner, drinking tiny glasses of sherry. One of them was smoking a long pipe.**

**A little man in a top hat was talking to the old bartender, who was quite bald and looked like a toothless walnut. The low buzz of chatter stopped when they walked in. **

**Everyone seemed to know Hagrid; they waved and smiled at him, and the bartender reached for a glass, saying, "The usual, Hagrid." "Can't, Tom, I'm on Hogwarts business," said Hagrid, clapping his great hand on Harry's shoulder and making Harry's knees buckle.  
"Good Lord," said the bartender, peering at Harry, "is this - can this be -." The Leaky Cauldron had suddenly gone completely still and silent.**

**"Bless my soul," whispered the old bartender, "Harry Potter... what an honor." He hurried out from behind the bar, rushed toward Harry and seized his hand, tears in his eyes.**

**"Welcome back, Mr. Potter, welcome back." Harry didn't know what to say. Everyone was looking at him. The old woman with the pipe was puffing on it without realizing it had gone out.**

**Hagrid was beaming.**

**Then there was a great scraping of chairs and the next moment, Harry found himself shaking hands with everyone in the Leaky Cauldron.**

**"Doris Crockford, Mr. Potter, can't believe I'm meeting you at last." **

**"So proud, Mr. Potter, I'm just so proud."**

**"Always wanted to shake your hand - I'm all of a flutter." **

**"Delighted, Mr. Potter, just can't tell you, Diggle's the name, Dedalus Diggle."**

**"I've seen you before!" said Harry, as Dedalus Diggle's top hat fell off in his excitement. "You bowed to me once in a shop." **

"That's going to make his day," predicted James.

"**"He remembers!" cried Dedalus Diggle, looking around at everyone. "Did you hear that. He remembers me!" Harry shook hands again and again - Doris Crockford kept coming back for more.**

**A pale young man made his way forward, very nervously. One of his eyes was twitching.**

**"Professor Quirrell!"****said Hagrid. "Harry, Professor Quirrell will be one of your teachers at Hogwarts." **

**"P-P-Potter," stammered Professor Quirrell, grasping Harry's hand, "c-can't t-tell you how p- pleased I am to meet you."**

**What sort of magic do you teach, Professor Quirrell?" **

**"D-Defense Against the D-D-Dark Arts," muttered Professor Quirrell,**"

"He sounds terrified at his own subject," said Lily, "I doubt he'll last long."

"They never do," said Remus with a sigh.

"**as though he'd rather not think about it. **

**"N-not that you n-need it, eh, P-P-Potter." He laughed nervously. "You'll be g-getting all your equipment, I suppose. I've g-got to p-pick up a new b-book on vampires, m-myself." He looked terrified at the very thought.**

**But the others wouldn't let Professor Quirrell keep Harry to himself. It took almost ten minutes to get away from them all. At last, Hagrid managed to make himself heard over the babble.**

**"Must get on - lots ter buy. Come on, Harry." Doris Crockford shook Harry's hand one last time, and Hagrid led them through the bar and out into a small, walled courtyard, where there was nothing but a trash can and a few weeds.**

**Hagrid grinned at Harry.**

**"Told yeh, didn't I. Told yeh you was famous.**

**Even Professor Quirrell was tremblin' ter meet yeh - mind you, he's usually tremblin'." **

**"Is he always that nervous?" **

**"Oh, yeah. Poor bloke. Brilliant mind. He was fine while he was studyin' outta books but then he took a year off ter get some firsthand experience...**

**They say he met vampires in the Black Forest, and there was a nasty bit o' trouble with a hag - never been the same since.**"

"Oh, that explains it," said Sirius, "I'd be terrified too."

"**Scared of the students, scared of his own subject now, where's me umbrella." Vampires. Hags. Harry's head was swimming. Hagrid, meanwhile, was counting bricks in the wall above the trash can.**

**"Three up... two across," he muttered. "Right, stand back, Harry." He tapped the wall three times with the point of his umbrella.**

**The brick he had touched quivered - it wriggled - in the middle, a small hole appeared - it grew wider and wider - a second later they were facing an archway large enough even for Hagrid, an archway onto a cobbled street that twisted and turned out of sight.**

**"Welcome," said Hagrid, "to Diagon Alley."**"

Lily cuddled closer to James. It should've been her and James taking Harry on his frist shopping trip to Diagon Alley and not Hagrid.

"**He grinned at Harry's amazement. They stepped through the archway. Harry looked quickly over his shoulder and saw the archway shrink instantly back into solid wall.**

**The sun shone brightly on a stack of cauldrons outside the nearest shop.**

**Cauldrons - All Sizes - Copper, Brass, Pewter, Silver - Self-Stirring - Collapsible, said a sign hanging over them.**

**"Yeah, you'll be needin' one," said Hagrid, "but we gotta get yer money first." Harry wished he had about eight more eyes. **

**He turned his head in every direction as they walked up the street, trying to look at everything at once: the shops, the things outside them, the people doing their shopping. A plump woman with red hair outside an Apothecary was shaking her head as they passed, saying, "Dragon liver, seventeen Sickles an ounce, they're mad..."**"

"The prices have certainly gone up," noted Remus.

"**A low, soft hooting came from a dark shop with a sign saying Eeylops Owl Emporium - Tawny, Screech, Barn, Brown, and Snowy. Several boys of about Harry's age had their noses pressed against a window with broomsticks in it.**

**"Look," Harry heard one of them say, "the new Nimbus Two Thousand - fastest ever -" **

**There were shops selling robes, shops selling telescopes and strange silver instruments Harry had never seen before, windows stacked with barrels of bat spleens and eels' eyes, tottering piles of spell books, quills, and rolls of parchment, potion bottles, globes of the moon...**

**"Gringotts," said Hagrid.**

**They had reached a snowy white building that towered over the other little shops. Standing beside its burnished bronze doors, wearing a uniform of scarlet and gold, was - **

**"Yeah, that's a goblin," said Hagrid quietly as they walked up the white stone steps toward him. The goblin was about a head shorter than Harry.**

**He had a swarthy, clever face, a pointed beard and, Harry noticed, very long fingers and feet. He bowed as they walked inside. Now they were facing a second pair of doors, silver this time, with words engraved upon them: **

**Enter, stranger, but take heed **

**Of what awaits the sin of greed, **

**For those who take, but do not earn, **

**Must pay most dearly in their turn.**

**So if you seek beneath our floors **

**A treasure that was never yours, **

**Thief, you have been warned, beware **

**Of finding more than treasure there.**

**"Like I said, Yeh'd be mad ter try an' rob it," said Hagrid.**

**A pair of goblins bowed them through the silver doors and they were in a vast marble hall. About a hundred more goblins were sitting on high stools behind a long counter, scribbling in large ledgers, weighing coins in brass scales, examining precious stones through eyeglasses.**

**There were too many doors to count leading off the hall, and yet more goblins were showing people in and out of these. Hagrid and Harry made for the counter.**

**"Morning," said Hagrid to a free goblin. "We've come ter take some money outta Mr. Harry Potter's safe." **

**"You have his key, Sir." **

**"Got it here somewhere," said Hagrid, and he started emptying his pockets onto the counter, scattering a handful of moldy dog biscuits over the goblin's book of numbers.**"

"I highly doubt that the goblin liked that," said Sirius as James nodded in agreement.

**The goblin wrinkled his nose. **

**Harry watched the goblin on their right weighing a pile of rubies as big as glowing coals.**

**"Got it," said Hagrid at last, holding up a tiny golden key.**

**The goblin looked at it closely.**

**"That seems to be in order." **

**"An' I've also got a letter here from Professor Dumbledore," said Hagrid importantly, throwing out his chest. "It's about the You-Know-What in vault seven hundred and thirteen."**"

"I wonder what that is," said James.

"I don't know," said Lily, "But if it concerns Dumbledore then it definitely is something important."

"**The goblin read the letter carefully.**

**"Very well," he said, handing it back to Hagrid, "I will have Someone take you down to both vaults. Griphook!" Griphook was yet another goblin. Once Hagrid had crammed all the dog biscuits back inside his pockets, he and Harry followed Griphook toward one of the doors leading off the hall.**

**"What's the You-Know-What in vault seven hundred and thirteen." Harry asked.**

**"Can't tell yeh that," said Hagrid mysteriously. "Very secret. Hogwarts business. Dumbledore's trusted me. More'n my job's worth ter tell yeh that."**

**Griphook held the door open for them. Harry, who had expected more marble, was surprised. They were in a narrow stone passageway lit with flaming torches. It sloped steeply downward and there were little railway tracks on the floor. Griphook whistled and a small cart came hurtling up the tracks toward them. They climbed in ,Hagrid with some difficulty, and were off. **

**At first they just hurtled through a maze of twisting passages. Harry tried to remember, left, right, right, left, middle fork, right, left, but it was impossible.**"

"That's actually the whole point," Remus said.

"Still, he remembered a lot more than what I ever could," said James and the others agreed whole-heartedly.

"**The rattling cart seemed to know its own way, because Griphook wasn't steering.**

**Harry's eyes stung as the cold air rushed past them, but he kept them wide open. Once, he thought he saw a burst of fire at the end of a passage and twisted around to see if it was a dragon,****but too late - - they plunged even deeper, passing an underground lake where huge stalactites and stalagmites grew from the ceiling and floor.**

**"I never know," Harry called to Hagrid over the noise of the cart, "what's the difference between a stalagmite and a stalactite?"**"

"That's easy," said Lily, "Stalagmite's on the floor and stalactite's on the ceiling."

**"Stalagmite's got an 'm' in it," said Hagrid. **

"I think I like Hagrid's answer better," said Sirius.

"**"An' don' ask me questions just now, I think I'm gonna be sick." He did look very green,**"

"Poor Hagrid," said Remus.

"**and when the cart stopped at last beside a small door in the passage wall, Hagrid got out and had to lean against the wall to stop his knees from trembling.**

**Griphook unlocked the door. A lot of green smoke came billowing out, and as it cleared, Harry gasped. Inside were mounds of gold coins. Columns of silver. Heaps of little bronze Knuts**."

"That just the trust vault," said James to everyone's surprise, "We have three vaults altogether, and the one that he's just got into is for school fees, and he would be able to access the other two when he's of age."

"**"All yours," smiled Hagrid.**

**All Harry's - it was incredible. The Dursleys couldn't have known about this or they'd have had it from him faster than blinking. How often had they complained how much Harry cost them to keep. And all the time there had been a small fortune belonging to him, buried deep under London.**

**Hagrid helped Harry pile some of it into a bag.**

**"The gold ones are Galleons," he explained. "Seventeen silver Sickles to a Galleon and twenty-nine Knuts to a Sickle, it's easy enough. Right, that should be enough fer a couple o' terms, we'll keep the rest safe for yeh." He turned to Griphook. "Vault seven hundred and thirteen now, please, and can we go more slowly."**"

"Sorry Hagrid, one-speed only," said James.

"**"One speed only," said Griphook. They were going even deeper now and gathering speed. The air became colder and colder as they hurtled round tight corners. They went rattling over an underground ravine, and Harry leaned over the side to try to see what was down at the dark bottom, but Hagrid groaned and pulled him back by the scruff of his neck.**"

"Merlin, Harry, do you have a death-wish?" asked Sirius with a groan.

"**Vault seven hundred and thirteen had no keyhole.**

**"Stand back," said Griphook importantly. He stroked the door gently with one of his long fingers and it simply melted away.**

**"If anyone but a Gringotts goblin tried that, they'd be sucked through the door and trapped in there," said Griphook." **

"Pleasant," snorted James and Sirius.

Lily rolled her eyes.

"**"How often do you check to see if anyone's inside?" Harry asked.**

**"About once every ten years," said Griphook with a rather nasty grin.**

**Something really extraordinary had to be inside this top security vault, Harry was sure, and he leaned forward eagerly, expecting to see fabulous jewels at the very least - but at first he thought it was empty. Then he noticed a grubby little package wrapped up in brown paper lying on the floor. Hagrid picked it up and tucked it deep inside his coat. Harry longed to know what it was, but knew better than to ask.**

**"Come on, back in this infernal cart, and don't talk to me on the way back, it's best if I keep me mouth shut," said Hagrid.**

**One wild cart ride later they stood blinking in the sunlight outside Gringotts. Harry didn't know where to run first now that he had a bag full of money. He didn't have to know how many Galleons there were to a pound to know that he was holding more money than he'd had in his whole life - more money than even Dudley had ever had.**

**"Might as well get yer uniform," said Hagrid, nodding toward Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions. "Listen, Harry, would yeh mind if I slipped off fer a pick-me-up in the Leaky Cauldron."**"

"Hagrid!" scolded Lily.

"**I hate them Gringotts carts." He did still look a bit sick, so Harry entered Madam Malkin's shop alone, feeling nervous.**

**Madam Malkin was a squat, smiling witch dressed all in mauve.**

**"Hogwarts, dear." she said, when Harry started to speak. "Got the lot here - another young man being fitted up just now, in fact."**"

"I wonder who that is," said Remus.

"Maybe he can make a new friend," James hoped.

"**In the back of the shop, a boy with a pale, pointed face**"

"Maybe we should scratch that," said Sirius.

"Why?" asked Lily.

"Sounds like a Malfoy," said James.

"**was standing on a footstool while a second witch pinned up his long black robes. Madam Malkin stood Harry on a stool next to him slipped a long robe over his head, and began to pin it to the right length.**

**"Hello," said the boy, "Hogwarts, too." **

**"Yes," said Harry.**

**"My father's next door buying my books and mother's up the street looking at wands," said the boy. He had a bored, drawling voice.**

**"Then I'm going to drag them off to look at racing brooms. I don't see why first years can't have their own. I think I'll bully father into getting me one and I'll smuggle it in somehow."**"

"What a pleasant sounding child," snorted Lily.

"**Harry was strongly reminded of Dudley.**

**"Have you got your own broom." the boy went on.**

**"No," said Harry.**

**"Play Quidditch at all?" **

**"No," Harry said again, wondering what on earth Quidditch could be." **

"NO! My own son not knowing what Quidditch is!" James sounded horrified. Lily wacked him upside the head.

"**"I do - Father says it's a crime if I'm not picked to play for my house, and I must say, I agree. Know what house you'll be in yet?" **

**"No," said Harry, feeling more stupid by the minute.**

**"Well, no one really knows until they get there, do they, but I know I'll be in Slytherin, all our family have been - imagine being in Hufflepuff, I think I'd leave, wouldn't you."**

**"Mmm," said Harry, wishing he could say something a bit more interesting.**

**"I say, look at that man!" said the boy suddenly, nodding toward the front window. Hagrid was standing there, grinning at Harry and pointing at two large ice creams to show he couldn't come in.**

**"That's Hagrid," said Harry, pleased to know something the boy didn't. "He works at Hogwarts." **

**"Oh," said the boy, "I've heard of him. He's a sort of servant, isn't he?"**"

"No, he isn't," said James.

"**"He's the gamekeeper," said Harry. He was liking the boy less and less every second.**"

"You're not the only one," mumbled Remus.

**"Yes, exactly. I heard he's a sort of savage - lives in a hut on the school grounds and every now and then he gets drunk, tries to do magic, and ends up setting fire to his bed."**"

"He does not," defended Lily.

"**"I think he's brilliant," said Harry coldly.**

**"Do you?" said the boy, with a slight sneer. "Why is he with you? Where are your parents?" **

**"They're dead," said Harry shortly. He didn't feel much like going into the matter with this boy.**

**"Oh, sorry," said the other, not sounding sorry at all.**

**"But they were our kind, weren't they?" **

**"They were a witch and wizard, if that's what you mean." **

**"I really don't think they should let the other sort in, do you. They're just not the same, they've never been brought up to know our ways. Some of them have never even heard of Hogwarts until they get the letter, imagine. I think they should keep it in the old wizarding families.**"

"That's a load of rubbish," said James.

"Yeah, I mean look at Lily," said Remus, "She's one of the best witches of our time, and she's a Muggle-born."

"**What's your surname, anyway?" But before Harry could answer, Madam Malkin said, "That's you done, my dear," and Harry, not sorry for an excuse to stop talking to the boy, hopped down from the footstool.**

**"Well, I'll see you at Hogwarts, I suppose," said the drawling boy.**

**Harry was rather quiet as he ate the ice cream Hagrid had bought him (chocolate and raspberry with chopped nuts).**"

"My favourite flavour," said Lily and James at the same time.

"**"What's up?" said Hagrid.**

**"Nothing," Harry lied. **

**They stopped to buy parchment and quills. Harry cheered up a bit when he found a bottle of ink that changed colour as you wrote. When they had left the shop, he said, "Hagrid, what's Quidditch?" **

**"Blimey, Harry, I keep forgettin' how little yeh know - not knowin' about Quidditch!" **

**"Don't make me feel worse," said Harry. He told Hagrid about the pale boy in Madam Malkin's.**

**"-and he said people from Muggle families shouldn't even be allowed in." **

**"Yer not from a Muggle family. If he'd known who yeh were - he's grown up knowin' yer name if his parents are wizardin' folk. You saw what everyone in the Leaky Cauldron was like when they saw yeh. Anyway, what does he know about it, some o' the best I ever saw were the only ones with magic in 'em in a long line 0' Muggles - look at yer mum! Look what she had fer a sister!" **

**"So what is Quidditch?" "It's our sport. Wizard sport. It's like - like football in the Muggle world - everyone follows Quidditch - played up in the air on broomsticks and there's four balls - sorta hard ter explain the rules."**"

"No it's not," exclaimed James and Sirius.

"**"And what are Slytherin and Hufflepuff?" **

**"School houses. There's four. Everyone says Hufflepuff are a lot o' duffers, but -" **

**"I bet I'm in Hufflepuff" said Harry gloomily.**

**"Better Hufflepuff than Slytherin," said Hagrid darkly. "There's not a single witch or wizard who went bad who wasn't in Slytherin.** **You-Know-Who was one." **

**"Vol-, sorry - You-Know-Who was at Hogwarts?"**

**"Years an' years ago," said Hagrid.**

**They bought Harry's school books in a shop called Flourish and Blotts**"

"That's my favourite shop," said Lily with longing.

"**where the shelves were stacked to the ceiling with books as large as paving stones bound in leather; books the size of postage stamps in covers of silk; books full of peculiar symbols and a few books with nothing in them at all. Even Dudley, who never read anything, would have been wild to get his hands on some of these. Hagrid almost had to drag Harry away from Curses and Countercurses (Bewitch Your Friends and Befuddle Your Enemies with the Latest Revenges: Hair Loss, Jelly-Legs, Tongue- Tying and Much, Much More) by Professor Vindictus Viridian.**

**"I was trying to find out how to curse Dudley."**"

"That's a brilliant idea," said James and Sirius in chorus.

"I feel sorry for Dudley," whispered Remus to Lily, "Who knows what those two will cook up."

**"I'm not sayin' that's not a good idea, but yer not ter use magic in the Muggle world except in very special circumstances," said Hagrid. "An' anyway, yeh couldn' work any of them curses yet, yeh'll need a lot more study before yeh get ter that level." Hagrid wouldn't let Harry buy a solid gold cauldron, either ("It says pewter on yer list"), but they got a nice set of scales for weighing potion ingredients and a collapsible brass telescope. Then they visited the Apothecary, which was fascinating enough to make up for its horrible smell, a mixture of bad eggs and rotted cabbages. Barrels of slimy stuff stood on the floor; jars of herbs, dried roots, and bright powders lined the walls; bundles of feathers, strings of fangs, and snarled claws hung from the ceiling. While Hagrid asked the man behind the counter for a supply of some basic potion ingredients for Harry, Harry himself examined silver unicorn horns at twenty-one Galleons each and minuscule, glittery-black beetle eyes (five Knuts a scoop). **

**Outside the Apothecary, Hagrid checked Harry's list again. **

**"Just yer wand left - A yeah, an' I still haven't got yeh a birthday present." Harry felt himself go red. **

**"You don't have to -" **

**"I know I don't have to. Tell yeh what, I'll get yer animal. Not a toad, toads went outta fashion years ago, yeh'd be laughed at -an' I don' like cats, they make me sneeze. I'll get yer an owl. All the kids want owls, they're dead useful, carry yer mail an' everythin." Twenty minutes later, they left Eeylops Owl Emporium, which had been dark and full of rustling and flickering, jewel-bright eyes. Harry now carried a large cage that held a beautiful snowy owl,**"

"Aw, that was no nice of Hagrid," said Lily.

"**fast asleep with her head under her wing. He couldn't stop stammering his thanks, sounding just like Professor Quirrell.**

**"Don' mention it," said Hagrid gruffly. "Don' expect you've had a lotta presents from them Dursleys. Just Ollivanders left now - only place fer wands, Ollivanders, and yeh gotta have the best wand." A magic wand... this was what Harry had been really looking forward to.**"

"I think everyone looks forward to getting their wands," said Remus.

"**The last shop was narrow and shabby. Peeling gold letters over the door read Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 B.C. A single wand lay on a faded purple cushion in the dusty window.**

**A tinkling bell rang somewhere in the depths of the shop as they stepped inside. It was a tiny place, empty except for a single, spindly chair that Hagrid sat on to wait. Harry felt strangely as though he had entered a very strict library; he swallowed a lot of new questions that had just occurred to him and looked instead at the thousands of narrow boxes piled neatly right up to the ceiling. For some reason, the back of his neck prickled. The very dust and silence in here seemed to tingle with some secret magic.**

**"Good afternoon," said a soft voice. Harry jumped. Hagrid must have jumped, too, because there was a loud crunching noise and he got quickly off the spindly chair.**

**An old man was standing before them, his wide, pale eyes shining like moons through the gloom of the shop.**

**"Hello," said Harry awkwardly.**

**"Ah yes," said the man. "Yes, yes. I thought I'd be seeing you Potter." **

**It wasn't a question. "You have your mother's eyes. It seems only yesterday she was in here herself, buying her first wand. Ten and a quarter inches long, swishy, made of willow. Nice wand for charm work."**"

"Charms always were Lily's best subject," said James.

"**Mr. Ollivander moved closer to Harry. Harry wished he would blink. Those silvery eyes were a bit creepy.**"

"He IS a bit unnerving," said Remus in agreement.

**"Your father, on the other hand, favored a mahogany wand. Eleven inches. Pliable. A little more power and excellent for transfiguration.**"

"And James is on the top of the class when it comes to Transfiguration," praised Lily.

James grinned at the praise from his future wife.

"**Well, I say your father favoured it - it's really the wand that chooses the wizard, of course." Mr. Ollivander had come so close that he and Harry were almost nose to nose. Harry could see himself reflected in those misty eyes.**

**"And that's where..." Mr. Ollivander touched the lightning scar on Harry's forehead with a long, white finger.**

**"I'm sorry to say I sold the wand that did it," he said softly.**

**"Thirteen-and-a-half inches. Yew. Powerful wand, very powerful,**"

"How good a memory does he have?" asked Sirius and everyone shrugs.

"**and in the wrong hands... well, if I'd known what that wand was going out into the world to do..." He shook his head and then, to Harry's relief, spotted Hagrid.**

**"Rubeus! Rubeus Hagrid! How nice to see you again... Oak, sixteen inches, rather bendy, wasn't it." **

**"It was, sir, yes," said Hagrid.**

**"Good wand, that one. But I suppose they snapped it in half when you got expelled." said Mr. Ollivander, suddenly stern.**

**"Er - yes, they did, yes," said Hagrid, shuffling his feet. "I've still got the pieces, though," he added brightly.**

**"But you don't use them." said Mr. Ollivander sharply.**

**"Oh, no, sir," said Hagrid quickly. Harry noticed he gripped his pink umbrella very tightly as he spoke.**

**"Hmmm," said Mr. Ollivander, giving Hagrid a piercing look. "Well, now - Mr. Potter. Let me see." He pulled a long tape measure with silver markings out of his pocket. "Which is your wand arm." **

**"Er - well, I'm right-handed," said Harry.**"

"That bit confused me as well," said Lily.

"**"Hold out your arm. That's it." He measured Harry from shoulder to finger, then wrist to elbow, shoulder to floor, knee to armpit and round his head.**"

"Why?" asked Sirius, "I mean, we only use our arms for wands, so why all the extra measurements?"

"**As he measured, he said, "Every Ollivander wand has a core of a powerful magical substance, Mr. Potter. We use unicorn hairs, phoenix tail feathers, and the heartstrings of dragons. No two Ollivander wands are the same, just as no two unicorns, dragons, or phoenixes are quite the same. And of course, you will never get such good results with another wizard's wand." Harry suddenly realized that the tape measure, which was measuring between his nostrils, was doing this on its own. Mr. Ollivander was flitting around the shelves, taking down boxes.**

**"That will do," he said, and the tape measure crumpled into a heap on the floor. "Right then, Mr. Potter. Try this one. Beechwood and dragon heartstring. Nine inches. Nice and flexible. just take it and give it a wave." Harry took the wand and (feeling foolish) waved it around a bit, but Mr.**

**Ollivander snatched it out of his hand almost at once.**

**"Maple and phoenix feather. Seven inches. Quite whippy. Try -" Harry tried - but he had hardly raised the wand when it, too, was snatched back by Mr. Ollivander. **

**"No, no -here, ebony and unicorn hair, eight and a half inches, springy. Go on, go on, try it out." Harry tried. And tried. He had no idea what Mr. Ollivander was waiting for. The pile of tried wands was mounting higher and higher on the spindly chair, but the more wands Mr. Ollivander pulled from the shelves, the happier he seemed to become.**"

"He always like a tricky customer," said Remus, "I went through five wands when I got mine."

"Only two," said James.

"Aw, man, I went through six," said Sirius.

"I had to go through three of them," said Lily.

"**"Tricky customer, eh. Not to worry, we'll find the perfect match here somewhere - I wonder, now - - yes, why not - unusual combination - holly and phoenix feather, eleven inches, nice and supple."**

**Harry took the wand. He felt a sudden warmth in his fingers. He raised the wand above his head, brought it swishing down through the dusty air and a stream of red and gold**"

"Gryffindor colours," beamed James.

"**sparks shot from the end like a firework, throwing dancing spots of light on to the walls. Hagrid whooped and clapped and Mr. Ollivander cried, "Oh, bravo! Yes, indeed, oh, very good. Well, well, well... how curious... how very curious..." He put Harry's wand back into its box and wrapped it in brown paper, still muttering, "Curious... curious…**"

"What's curious?" asked Sirius being - well - serious (A/N: sorry, I just needed to use that pun).

"**Mr. Ollivander fixed Harry with his pale stare.**

**"I remember every wand I've ever sold, Mr. Potter. Every single wand. It so happens that the phoenix whose tail feather is in your wand, gave another feather - just one other. It is very curious indeed that you should be destined for this wand when its brother why, its brother gave you that scar."**"

Lily and James paled.

"Harry's wand is brother to Voldemort's wand?" Remus asked weakly.

"**Harry swallowed.**

**"Yes, thirteen-and-a-half inches. Yew. Curious indeed how these things happen. The wand chooses the wizard, remember... I think we must expect great things from you, Mr. Potter... After all, He- Who-Must-Not-Be-Named did great things - terrible, yes, but great."**"

"Is he complementing Voldemort?!" James looked shocked.

"No," said Lily, "He's complementing his magic. There's a difference, James."

"**Harry shivered. He wasn't sure he liked Mr. Ollivander too much. He paid seven gold Galleons for his wand, and Mr. Ollivander bowed them from his shop.**

**The late afternoon sun hung low in the sky as Harry and Hagrid made their way back down Diagon Alley, back through the wall, back through the Leaky Cauldron, now empty. Harry didn't speak at all as they walked down the road; he didn't even notice how much people were gawking at them on the Underground, laden as they were with all their funny-shaped packages, with the snowy owl asleep in its cage on Harry's lap. Up another escalator, out into Paddington station; Harry only realized where they were when Hagrid tapped him on the shoulder.**

**"Got time fer a bite to eat before yer train leaves," he said.**

**He bought Harry a hamburger and they sat down on plastic seats to eat them. Harry kept looking around. Everything looked so strange, somehow.**"

"Yeah, I felt that way too," said Lily.

"**"You all right, Harry. Yer very quiet," said Hagrid.**

**Harry wasn't sure he could explain. He'd just had the best birthday of his life - and yet - he chewed his hamburger, trying to find the words.**

**"Everyone thinks I'm special," he said at last. "All those people in the Leaky Cauldron, Professor Quirrell, Mr. Ollivander... but I don't know anything about magic at all. How can they expect great things. I'm famous and I can't even remember what I'm famous for. I don't know what happened when Vol-, sorry - I mean, the night my parents died." Hagrid leaned across the table. Behind the wild beard and eyebrows he wore a very kind smile.**

**"Don' you worry, Harry. You'll learn fast enough. Everyone starts at the beginning at Hogwarts, you'll be just fine. just be yerself. I know it's hard. Yeh've been singled out, an' that's always hard. But yeh'll have a great time at Hogwarts**

"Hear, hear," the marauders cried out.

**- I did - still do, 'smatter of fact." Hagrid helped Harry on to the train that would take him back to the Dursleys, then handed him an envelope. **

**"Yer ticket fer Hogwarts," he said. "First o' September - King's Cross - it's all on yer ticket. Any problems with the Dursleys, send me a letter with yer owl, she'll know where to find me... See yeh soon, Harry."**"

"He didn't tell Harry how to get onto the platform," said Sirius in shock.

"Maybe he thought my sister would tell him," said Lily, hoping Petunia did in fact tell Harry that major detail.

"**The train pulled out of the station. Harry wanted to watch Hagrid until he was out of sight; he rose in his seat and pressed his nose against the window, but he blinked and Hagrid had gone.**"

"It's my turn again," said Remus, and took the book from Lily.


	8. TO MY READERS 2

**TO MY READERS **

_**Friday, 05 July 2013**_

Hi, everyone. Thanks for following my story so far. The constant support means a lot to me. But I fear I bring bad news.

Due to family matters, I have to put this story on hiatus for a two week period. I know how much you're enjoying this story, but the situation is out of my hands. I should be back on Sunday next week, but writing takes time, and school starts again on the Monday after the day I get back.

But don't think I'm leaving you hanging, just hang in there.

And…there was something else…

OH YEAH!

Enclosed is a poll for you guys to take. I want to know which character you want to see added in the next chapter.

And that's about it for now.

Ciao,

Gangsta Smurfette.

**POLL: WHICH CHARACTER DO YOU WANT IN THE NEXT CHAPTER? **

_Vote for a single character by enclosing their name and number in a review. _

Severus Snape

Peter Pettigrew

Teenaged Harry

Teddy Lupin


	9. Platfrom Nine and Three Quaters

**BOOKS FROM THE FUTURE: THE PHILSOPHER'S STONE**

_Chapter 8: Platform Nine and Three-Quarters _

* * *

**A/N: I'M BACK! Rejoice, my readers! This here chapter was completed on Saturday, 20 July 2013 at 05: 29 P.M. The vote is now officially closed. Enjoy the chapter!**

Before Remus began to read, however, a note dropped into Lily's lap. She picked it up and read out loud:

_Lily, _

_I'm sending another person to the Chamber. He should arrive a few seconds after you receive this note, and would be staying for the rest of book one and its sequels. _

_A friend. _

A bright flash occurred as soon as Lily finished reading the note. The newcomer landed on his feet. He seemed to be Hogwarts-age, had unruly black hair and green eyes, and wore glasses.

Lily gasped, "Harry?"

Sirius and Remus sent each other a look while James' jaw dropped.

"The sender has told me everything before I came," said Harry, "And I know you know about my life at the Dursleys so far…"

"I can't believe they treated you so poorly," Lily exploded.

"I'm fine, mum… really," said Harry, "I'm used to it."

"You shouldn't be," snarled James.

"I'll be okay," Harry sighed, "Anyways; we're here to read books on my life. I know only details up to my fifth year; it's the summer before my sixth. I'm not supposed to tell you anything…Who's turn is it to read?"

"Mine," said Remus.

Harry took a seat and nodded, signalling Remus to read:

"**Chapter 6: Platform Nine and Three-Quarters.**"

"Yes, you're leaving!" Sirius cheered.

Harry smiled at his younger Godfather's antics.

"**Harry's last month with the Dursleys wasn't fun.**"

"Of course it wasn't," Lily's eyes flashed dangerously.

"**True, Dudley was now so scared of Harry he wouldn't stay in the same room, while Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon didn't shut Harry in his cupboard, force him to do anything, or shout at him - in fact, they didn't speak to him at all.**"

"Surely that was an improvement," said Remus.

"Yeah, but it got a little lonely after a while," said Harry.

"**Half terrified, half furious, they acted as though any chair with Harry in it were empty. Although this was an improvement in many ways, it did become a bit depressing after a while.**

**Harry kept to his room, with his new owl for company. He had decided to call her Hedwig, a name he had found in A History of Magic.**"

"Hedwig's the best owl ever," Harry said, much to the other's amusement.

"**His school books were very interesting. **

**He lay on his bed reading late into the night, Hedwig swooping in and out of the open window as she pleased. It was lucky that Aunt Petunia didn't come in to vacuum anymore, because Hedwig kept bringing back dead mice. **

**Every night before he went to sleep, Harry ticked off another day on the piece of paper he had pinned to the wall, counting down to September the first.**"

"I think we all did that," James said, "It is exciting, going to Hogwarts."

"Yeah, especially if it's your first time going and you're Muggle-born," said Lily.

"**On the last day of August he thought he'd better speak to his aunt and uncle about getting to King's Cross station the next day,**"

"Why leave that for the last minute?" James asked.

"Less chance of them changing their minds," said Harry.

"**so he went down to the living room where they were watching a quiz show on television. He cleared his throat to let them know he was there, and Dudley screamed and ran from the room.**"

There were fits of chuckles at that.

"**"Er - Uncle Vernon." Uncle Vernon grunted to show he was listening.**

**"Er - I need to be at King's Cross tomorrow to - to go to Hogwarts." Uncle Vernon grunted again.  
"Would it be all right if you gave me a lift." Grunt. Harry supposed that meant yes.**

**"Thank you." He was about to go back upstairs when Uncle Vernon actually spoke.**

**"Funny way to get to a wizards' school, the train. Magic carpets all got punctures, have they."**"

"No, they're illegal," said Lily and Remus.

"**Harry didn't say anything.**

**"Where is this school, anyway?"**

**"I don't know," said Harry, realizing this for the first time. He pulled the ticket Hagrid had given him out of his pocket.**

**"I just take the train from platform nine and three-quarters at eleven o'clock," he read.**

**His aunt and uncle stared.**"

"Petunia KNOWS!" Lily burst out.

"**"Platform what?" **

**"Nine and three-quarters." **

**"Don't talk rubbish," said Uncle Vernon. "There is no platform nine and three-quarters."**"

"YES, THERE IS!"

"**"It's on my ticket." **

**"Barking," said Uncle Vernon, "howling mad, the lot of them."**"

"We're not," said Lily.

"Well, in all fairness," said James, "That description fits Padfoot quite nicely."

"I agree," said Remus with a smirk.

"Hey!" Sirius pouted, "I took offence to that!"

Harry grinned at their antics.

Lily, on the other hand, said, "You three are capable of being more mature than that! Act your age, not your shoe-size!"

"**You'll see. You just wait. All right, we'll take you to King's Cross. We're going up to London tomorrow anyway, or I wouldn't bother." **

**"Why are you going to London?" Harry asked, trying to keep things friendly.**"

"Why bother?" Sirius asked but Harry didn't reply.

"**"Taking Dudley to the hospital," growled Uncle Vernon. "Got to have that ruddy tail removed before he goes to Smeltings."**

**Harry woke at five o'clock** **the next morning and was too excited and nervous to go back to sleep. He got up and pulled on his jeans because he didn't want to walk into the station in his wizard's robes**"

"Good idea," Lily praised, "The less the Muggles know the better."

"**- he'd change on the train. He checked his Hogwarts list yet again to make sure he had everything he needed, saw that Hedwig was shut safely in her cage, and then paced the room, waiting for the Dursleys to get up. Two hours later, Harry's huge, heavy trunk had been loaded into the Dursleys' car, Aunt Petunia had talked Dudley into sitting next to Harry, and they had set off.**

**They reached King's Cross at half past ten. Uncle Vernon dumped Harry's trunk onto a cart and wheeled it into the station for him.**"

"Is it me, or is he being nice to Harry?" asked Sirius in awe.

"**Harry thought this was strangely kind until Uncle Vernon stopped dead, facing the platforms with a nasty grin on his face.**"

"Oh Merlin, that can't be good," said Remus.

"**"Well, there you are, boy. Platform nine - platform ten. Your platform should be somewhere in the middle, but they don't seem to have built it yet, do they." He was quite right, of course. There was a big plastic number nine over one platform and a big plastic number ten over the one next to it, and** **in the middle, nothing at all.**

**"Have a good term," said Uncle Vernon with an even nastier smile. He left without another word. Harry turned and saw the Dursleys drive away.**

**All three of them were laughing.**"

"Petunia KNEW where it is," Lily's voice was quiet, dangerously quiet.

"**Harry's mouth went rather dry. What on earth was he going to do? He was starting to attract a lot of funny looks, because of Hedwig. He'd have to ask someone.**

**He stopped a passing guard, but didn't dare mention platform nine and three-quarters.**"

"Well, at least you had a little more sense than your father," Remus said.

"**The guard had never heard of Hogwarts and when Harry couldn't even tell him what part of the country it was in, he started to get annoyed, as though Harry was being stupid on purpose. Getting desperate, Harry asked for the train that left at eleven o'clock, but the guard said there wasn't one. In the end the guard strode away, muttering about time wasters. Harry was now trying hard not to panic.**

**According to the large clock over the arrivals board, he had ten minutes left to get on the train to Hogwarts and he had no idea how to do it; he was stranded in the middle of a station with a trunk he could hardly lift, a pocket full of wizard money, and a large owl.**

**Hagrid must have forgotten to tell him something you had to do, like tapping the third brick on the left to get into Diagon Alley. He wondered if he should get out his wandand start tapping the ticket inspector's stand between platforms nine and ten.**

**At that moment a group of people passed just behind him and he caught a few words of what they were saying.**

**"- packed with Muggles, of course -" Harry swung round. The speaker was a plump woman who was talking to four boys, all with flaming red hair.**"

"Thank goodness," Lily sighed, "Another Wizarding family. They'll help him."

"I'm guessing it's the Weasleys," said James, "They all have red hair."

Harry smiled but said nothing.

"**Each of them was pushing a trunk like Harry's in front of him - and they had an owl.**

**Heart hammering, Harry pushed his cart after them. They stopped and so did he, just near enough to hear what they were saying.**

**"Now, what's the platform number?" said the boys' mother.**

**"Nine and three-quarters!" piped a small girl, also red-headed, who was holding her hand, "Mum, can't I go... " **

**"You're not old enough, Ginny, now be quiet. All right, Percy,**"

"Prat," mumbled Harry.

"**you go first."**

**What looked like the oldest boy marched toward platforms nine and ten.**

**Harry watched, careful not to blink in case he missed it - but just as the boy reached the dividing barrier between the two platforms, a large crowd of tourists came swarming in front of him and by the time the last backpack had cleared away, the boy had vanished.**

**"Fred, you next," the plump woman said.**

"I'm not Fred, I'm George," said the boy. "Honestly, woman, you call yourself our mother. Can't you tell I'm George?"

**"Sorry, George, dear." **

**"Only joking, I am Fred," said the boy,**"

**and off he went. His twin called after him to hurry up, and he must have done so, because a second later, he had gone - but how had he done it.**

**Now the third brother was walking briskly toward the barrier he was almost there - and then, quite suddenly, he wasn't anywhere.**

**There was nothing else for it.**

**"Excuse me," Harry said to the plump woman.**

**"Hello, dear," she said. "First time at Hogwarts. Ron's new, too." She pointed at the last and youngest of her sons. He was tall, thin, and gangling, with freckles, big hands and feet, and a long nose.**

**Yes," said Harry. "The thing is - the thing is, I don't know how to -" **

**"How to get onto the platform." she said kindly, and Harry nodded.**

**"Not to worry," she said. "All you have to do is walk straight at the barrier between platforms nine and ten. Don't stop and don't be scared you'll crash into it, that's very important. Best do it at a bit of a run if you're nervous. Go on, go now before Ron."**

**"Er - okay," said Harry.**

**He pushed his trolley around and stared at the barrier. It looked very solid.**

**He started to walk toward it. People jostled him on their way to platforms nine and ten. Harry walked more quickly. He was going to smash right into that barrier and then he'd be in trouble - leaning forward on his cart, he broke into a heavy run - the barrier was coming nearer and nearer - he wouldn't be able to stop - the cart was out of control - he was a foot away - he closed his eyes ready for the crash - It didn't come... he kept on running... he opened his eyes. A scarlet steam engine was waiting next to a platform packed with people. A sign overhead said Hogwarts Express, eleven O'clock. Harry looked behind him and saw a wrought-iron archway where the barrier had been, with the words Platform Nine and Three-Quarters on it, He had done it.**"

The Marauders cheered much to Lily's dismay and Harry's amusement.

"**Smoke from the engine drifted over the heads of the chattering crowd, while cats of every colour wound here and there between their legs. Owls hooted to one another in a disgruntled sort of way over the babble and the scraping of heavy trunks.**

**The first few carriages were already packed with students, some hanging out of the window to talk to their families, some fighting over seats.**

**Harry pushed his cart off down the platform in search of an empty seat.**

**He passed a round-faced boy who was saying, "Gran, I've lost my toad again."**

"I would've lost a toad if I got one," said Sirius, "All they do is sleep."

"**"Oh, Neville," he heard the old woman sigh.**

**A boy with dreadlocks was surrounded by a small crowd.**

**Give us a look, Lee, go on." The boy lifted the lid of a box in his arms, and the people around him shrieked and yelled as something inside poked out a long, hairy leg.**"

"Awesome!" cheered Sirius and Remus.

"**Harry pressed on through the crowd until he found an empty compartment near the end of the train. He put Hedwig inside first and then started to shove and heave his trunk toward the train door. He tried to lift it up the steps but could hardly raise one end and twice he dropped it painfully on his foot.**"

"Ouch," everyone winced.

"**"Want a hand?" It was one of the red-haired twins he'd followed through the barrier.**

**"Yes, please," Harry panted.**

**"Oy, Fred! C'mere and help!" With the twins' help, Harry's trunk was at last tucked away in a corner of the compartment.**

**"Thanks," said Harry, pushing his sweaty hair out of his eyes.**

**"What's that?" said one of the twins suddenly, pointing at Harry's lightning scar.**

**"Blimey," said the other twin. "Are you?" **

**"He is," said the first twin. "Aren't you?" he added to Harry.**

**"What?" said Harry.  
"Harry Potter, "chorused the twins.  
"Oh, him,"**"

There was quite a bit of laughter at this, and Harry turned red.

"**said Harry. "I mean, yes, I am." The two boys gawked at him, and Harry felt himself turning red. Then, to his relief, a voice came floating in through the train's open door.**

**"Fred. George. Are you there?" **

**"Coming, Mum." With a last look at Harry, the twins hopped off the train.**

**Harry sat down next to the window where, half hidden, he could watch the red-haired family on the platform and hear what they were saying.**"

"Don't eavesdrop, Harry," said Lily with a sigh.

"It was only once, mum," said Harry.

"**Their mother had just taken out her handkerchief.**

**"Ron, you've got something on your nose." The youngest boy tried to jerk out of the way, but she grabbed him and began rubbing the end of his nose.**

**"Mum - geroff" He wriggled free.**

**"Aaah, has ickle Ronnie got somefink on his nosie." said one of the twins.**

**"Shut up," said Ron.**

**"Where's Percy?" said their mother.**"

"Oh, off somewhere being a prat," Harry mumbled.

"**"He's coming now." The oldest boy came striding into sight. He had already changed into his billowing black Hogwarts robes, and Harry noticed a shiny silver badge on his chest with the letter P on it.**"

"Great," said James, "A prefect."

"**"Can't stay long, Mother," he said. "I'm up front, the prefects have got two compartments to themselves -" **

**"Oh, are you a prefect, Percy." said one of the twins, with an air of great surprise. "You should have said something, we had no idea." **

**"Hang on, I think I remember him saying something about it," said the other twin. "Once -" **

**"Or twice -" **

**"A minute -" **

**"All summer -" **

**"Oh, shut up," said Percy the Prefect.**"

The marauders were laughing at this.

"I think I like these two," said Sirius trough fits of laughter.

"**"How come Percy gets new robes, anyway." said one of the twins.**

**"Because he's a prefect," said their mother fondly. "All right, dear, well, have a good term - send me an owl when you get there." She kissed Percy on the cheek and he left. Then she turned to the twins.**

**"Now, you two - this year, you behave yourselves. If I get one more owl telling me you've - you've blown up a toilet or –"**"

"Never give a prankster ideas," Lily groaned.

"**"Blown up a toilet? We've never blown up a toilet."**

**"Great idea though, thanks, Mum." **

**"It's not funny. And look after Ron."**

**"Don't worry, ickle Ronniekins is safe with us." **

**"Shut up," said Ron again. He was almost as tall as the twins already and his nose was still pink where his mother had rubbed it.**

**"Hey, Mom, guess what. Guess who we just met on the train." Harry leaned back quickly so they couldn't see him looking.**

**"You know that black-haired boy who was near us in the station. Know who he is." **

**"Who?" **

**"Harry Potter!" Harry heard the little girl's voice.**

**"Oh, Mum, can I go on the train and see him, Mum, eh please..."**"

"Ooh, looks like Harry has a fan-girl," said Sirius with a coy grin.

"For your information, fan-boys are worse," Harry said, "You'll find out in book two."

"**"You've already seen him, Ginny, and the poor boy isn't something you goggle at in a zoo. Is he really, Fred?How do you know?" **

**"Asked him. Saw his scar. It's really there - like lightning." **

**"Poor dear - no wonder he was alone, I wondered. He was ever so polite when he asked how to get onto the platform." **

**"Never mind that, do you think he remembers what You-Know-Who looks like." Their mother suddenly became very stern.**

**"I forbid you to ask him, Fred. No, don't you dare. As though he needs reminding of that on his first day at school." **

**"All right, keep your hair on." A whistle sounded.**

**"Hurry up!" their mother said, and the three boys clambered onto the train. They leaned out of the window for her to kiss them good-bye, and their younger sister began to cry.**

**"Don't, Ginny, we'll send you loads of owls." **

**"We'll send you a Hogwarts toilet seat." **

**"George!" **

**"Only joking, Mum." The train began to move. Harry saw the boys' mother waving and their sister, half laughing, half crying, running to keep up with the train until it gathered too much speed, then she fell back and waved.**

**Harry watched the girl and her mother disappear as the train rounded the corner. Houses flashed past the window. Harry felt a great leap of excitement. He didn't know what he was going to but it had to be better than what he was leaving behind.**"

"Anyplace is better than the Dursleys," said Harry.

"**The door of the compartment slid open and the youngest****redheaded boy came in.**

**"Anyone sitting there." he asked, pointing at the seat opposite Harry. "Everywhere else is full." **

**Harry shook his head and the boy sat down. He glanced at Harry and then looked quickly out of the window, pretending he hadn't looked. Harry saw he still had a black mark on his nose.**

**"Hey, Ron." The twins were back.**

**"Listen, we're going down the middle of the train - Lee Jordan's got a giant tarantula down there."**

**Right," mumbled Ron.**

**"Harry," said the other twin, "did we introduce ourselves. Fred and George Weasley. And this is Ron, our brother. See you later, then."**

**"Bye," said Harry and Ron. The twins slid the compartment door shut behind them.**

**"Are you really Harry Potter?" Ron blurted out.**

**Harry nodded.**

**"Oh -well, I thought it might be one of Fred and George's jokes,"****said Ron. "And have you really got - you know..." He pointed at Harry's forehead.**

**Harry pulled back his bangs to show the lightning scar. Ron stared.**

**"So that's where You-Know-Who..."**

Everyone hung their heads at the sombre reminder what's yet to happen in their time.

**"Yes," said Harry, "but I can't remember it." **

**"Nothing?" said Ron eagerly.**

**"Well - I remember a lot of green light, but nothing else." **

**"Wow," said Ron. He sat and stared at Harry for a few moments, then, as though he had suddenly realized what he was doing, he looked quickly out of the window again.**

**"Are all your family wizards?" asked Harry, who found Ron just as interesting as Ron found him.**

**"Er - Yes, I think so," said Ron. "I think Mum's got a second cousin who's an accountant, but we never talk about him."**

"That's not very nice," Lily said with a frown, "It reminds me of my sister and her pig of a husband."

"**"So you must know loads of magic already." The Weasleys were clearly one of those old Wizarding families the pale boy in Diagon Alley had talked about.**

**"I heard you went to live with Muggles," said Ron. "What are they like?" "Horrible -well, not all of them. My aunt and uncle and cousin are, though. Wish I'd had three wizard brothers."**

**"Five," said Ron. For some reason, he was looking gloomy. **

**Ron reached inside his jacket and pulled out a fat grey rat, which was asleep.**

**"His name's Scabbers and he's useless, he hardly ever wakes up. Percy got an owl from my dad for being made a prefect, but they couldn't aff - I mean, I got Scabbers instead." Ron's ears went pink. He seemed to think he'd said too much, because he went back to staring out of the window.**

**Harry didn't think there was anything wrong with not being able to afford an owl. After all, he'd never had any money in his life until a month ago, and he told Ron so, all about having to wear Dudley's old clothes and never getting proper birthday presents. This seemed to cheer Ron up.**"

"That was very sweet of you, Harry," said Lily, beaming at her son.

Harry blushed at the praise.

"**"... and until Hagrid told me, I didn't know anything about being a wizard or about my parents or Voldemort" Ron gasped.**"

"For Merlin's sake, it's just a name!" Harry groaned.

"**"What?" said Harry. **

**"You said You-Know-Who's name!"**"

"Yes Ron, I did," said Harry sarcastically, "You'll find that I say it quite often."

This comment caused the Marauders to burst out in laughter as Lily rolled her eyes.

"**said Ron, sounding both shocked and impressed. "I'd have thought you, of all people -" **

**"I'm not trying to be brave or anything, saying the name," said Harry, "I just never knew you shouldn't. See what I mean. I've got loads to learn... I bet," he added, voicing for the first time something that had been worrying him a lot lately, "I bet I'm the worst in the class." **

**"You won't be. There's loads of people who come from Muggle families and they learn quick enough."**

"Hermione, for example," said Harry, and when he received confused looks he explained, "Hermione's one of my best friends. She's the best witch in our year, and muggleborn, like mum."

"**While they had been talking, the train had carried them out of London.**

**Now they were speeding past fields full of cows and sheep. They were quiet for a time, watching the fields and lanes flick past.**

**Around half past twelve there was a great clattering outside in the corridor and a smiling, dimpled woman slid back their door and said, "Anything off the cart, dears." Harry, who hadn't had any breakfast, leapt to his feet, but Ron's ears went pink again and he muttered that he'd brought sandwiches. Harry went out into the corridor.**

**He had never had any money for candy with the Dursleys, and now that he had pockets rattling with gold and silver he was ready to buy as many Mars Bars as he could carry - but the woman didn't have Mars Bars. What she did have were Bettie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, Drooble's Best Blowing Gum, Chocolate Frogs, Pumpkin Pasties, Cauldron Cakes, Licorice Wands, and a number of other strange things Harry had never seen in his life. Not wanting to miss anything, he got some of everything and paid the woman eleven silver Sickles and seven bronze Knuts.**

**Ron stared as Harry brought it all back in to the compartment and tipped it onto an empty seat.**

**"Hungry, are you." **

**"Starving," said Harry, taking a large bite out of a pumpkin pasty.**

**Ron had taken out a lumpy package and unwrapped it. There were four sandwiches inside. He pulled one of them apart and said, "She always forgets I don't like corned beef." **

**"Swap you for one of these," said Harry, holding up a pasty. "Go on -" **

**"You don't want this, it's all dry," said Ron. "She hasn't got much time," he added quickly, "you know, with five of us." **

**"Go on, have a pasty," said Harry, who had never had anything to share before or, indeed, anyone to share it with. It was a nice feeling, sitting there with Ron; eating their way through all Harry's pasties, cakes, and candies (the sandwiches lay forgotten).**"

"So all it took was food for you two to become friends?" asked Lily.

"Yeah, Ron thinks with his stomach," said Harry.

"Sounds like someone I know," said James, much to Sirius' objection.

"**"What are these?" Harry asked Ron, holding up a pack of Chocolate Frogs. "They're not really frogs, are they?" He was starting to feel that nothing would surprise him.**

**"No," said Ron. "But see what the card is. I'm missing Agrippa." **

**"What?" **

**"Oh, of course, you wouldn't know - Chocolate Frogs have cards, inside them, you know, to collect - famous witches and wizards. I've got about five hundred, but I haven't got Agrippa or Ptolemy."**

**Harry unwrapped his Chocolate Frog and picked up the card. It showed a man's face. He wore half- moon glasses, had a long, crooked nose, and flowing silver hair, beard, and mustache. Underneath the picture was the name Albus Dumbledore.**

**"So this is Dumbledore!" said Harry.**

**"Don't tell me you'd never heard of Dumbledore!" said Ron. "Can I have a frog. I might get Agrippa - thanks" **

**Harry turned over his card and read: **

_**ALBUS DUMBLEDORE CURRENTLY HEADMASTER OF HOGWARTS Considered by many the greatest wizard of modern times, Dumbledore is particularly famous for his defeat of the dark wizard Grindelwald in 1945, for the discovery of the twelve uses of dragon's blood, and his work on alchemy with his partner, Nicolas Flamel.**_**" **

"What?!" cried Harry and making Sirius jump in surprise, "All those books, and it was on a bloody Chocolate Frog card?!"

"What are you talk about, Harry?" asked Remus.

"You'll see later," said Harry, "I can't believe it! Right under our noses."

"_**Professor Dumbledore enjoys chamber music and tenpin bowling.  
**_**  
Harry turned the card back over and saw, to his astonishment, that Dumbledore's face had disappeared.**

**"He's gone!" **

**"Well, you can't expect him to hang around all day," said Ron. "He'll be back. No, I've got Morgana again and I've got about six of her... do you want it. You can start collecting."**

**Ron's eyes strayed to the pile of Chocolate Frogs waiting to be unwrapped. **

**"Help yourself," said Harry. "But in, you know, the Muggle world, people just stay put in photos."**"

"Really?" Remus asked curiously.

Harry and Lily nodded.

"**"Do they? What, they don't move at all." Ron sounded amazed. "Weird!"**

**Harry stared as Dumbledore sidled back into the picture on his card and gave him a small smile. Ron was more interested in eating the frogs than looking at the Famous Witches and Wizards cards, but Harry couldn't keep his eyes off them. Soon he had not only Dumbledore and Morgana, but Hengist of Woodcroft, Alberic Grunnion, Circe, Paracelsus, and Merlin." **

"Good start," said Remus.

"Of course, Moony," said Sirius with a sigh, "You and your chocolate obsession…"

"I'm not obsessed," Remus said with a pout worthy of a ten year old Draco.

"**He finally tore his eyes away from the druidess Cliodna, who was scratching her nose, to open a bag of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans.**

**"You want to be careful with those," Ron warned Harry. "When they say every flavor, they mean every flavor - you know, you get all the ordinary ones like chocolate and peppermint and marmalade, but then you can get spinach and liver and tripe. George reckons he had a booger- flavored one once."**"

"Ew," said Lily in disgust.

"**Ron picked up a green bean, looked at it carefully, and bit into a corner.**

**"Bleaaargh - see. Sprouts." They had a good time eating the Every Flavor Beans. Harry got toast, coconut, baked bean, strawberry, curry, grass, coffee, sardine, and was even brave enough to nibble the end off a funny grey one Ron wouldn't touch, which turned out to be pepper.**

**The countryside now flying past the window was becoming wilder. The neat fields had gone. Now there were woods, twisting rivers, and dark green hills.**

**There was a knock on the door of their compartment and the round-faced boy Harry had passed on platform nine and three-quarters came in. He looked tearful.**

**"Sorry," he said, "but have you seen a toad at all." When they shook their heads, he wailed, "I've lost him! He keeps getting away from me!"**

**"He'll turn up," said Harry.**"

"Aw, so sweet," cooed Lily as Harry blushed.

**"Yes," said the boy miserably. "Well, if you see him..." He left. **

**"Don't know why he's so bothered," said Ron. "If I'd brought a toad I'd lose it as quick as I could. **

**Mind you, I brought Scabbers, so I can't talk." The rat was still snoozing on Ron's lap.**

**"He might have died**"

"Would've saved us a whole lot of trouble," said Harry under his breath.

"**and you wouldn't know the difference," said Ron in disgust. "I tried to turn him yellow yesterday to make him more interesting, but the spell didn't work. I'll show you, look..." **

**He rummaged around in his trunk and pulled out a very battered-looking wand. It was chipped in places and something white was glinting at the end. **

**"Unicorn hair's nearly poking out. Anyway" He had just raised his 'wand when the compartment door slid open again.**

**The toadless boy was back, but this time he had a girl with him. She was already wearing her new Hogwarts robes.**"

"Guys, meet Hermione," said Harry with a flourish.

Everyone chuckled at this.

"**"Has anyone seen a toad. Neville's lost one," she said. She had a bossy sort of voice, lots of bushy brown hair, and rather large front teeth.**

**"We've already told him we haven't seen it," said Ron, but the girl wasn't listening, she was looking at the wand in his hand.**

**"Oh, are you doing magic. Let's see it, then." She sat down. Ron looked taken aback.**

**"Er - all right." He cleared his throat.**

**"Sunshine, daisies, butter mellow, turn this stupid, fat rat yellow."**"

"Are you sure that was a real spell?" Lily asked as the Marauders burst into laughter.

"**He waved his wand, but nothing happened. Scabbers stayed grey and fast asleep.**

**"Are you sure that's a real spell." said the girl. "Well, it's not very good, is it?**"

"Lily, you're thinking like Hermione," said Sirius in awe.

"And you look just like Ron, right now," said Harry to the others' amusement.

"I do not!" Sirius defended, "Sirius Black is a one-time only product!"

"**I've tried a few simple spells just for practice and it's all worked for me. Nobody in my family's magic at all, it was ever such a surprise when I got my letter, but I was ever so pleased, of course, I mean, it's the very best school of witchcraft there is, I've heard - I've learned all our course books by heart, of course, I just hope it will be enough - I'm Hermione Granger, by the way, who are you." She said all this very fast.**

**Harry looked at Ron, and was relieved to see by his stunned face that he hadn't learned all the course books by heart either.**

**"I'm Ron Weasley," Ron muttered.**

**"Harry Potter," said Harry.**

**"Are you really?" said Hermione. "I know all about you, of course - I got a few extra books. for background reading, and you're in Modern Magical History and The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts and Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century."**

**"Am I?" said Harry, feeling dazed.**

**"Goodness, didn't you know, I'd have found out everything I could if it was me," said Hermione. "Do either of you know what house you'll be in? I've been asking around, and I hope I'm in Gryffindor, it sounds by far the best; I hear Dumbledore himself was in it, but I suppose Ravenclaw wouldn't be too bad... Anyway, we'd better go and look for Neville's toad. You two had better change, you know, I expect we'll be there soon." And she left, taking the toadless boy with her.**

**"Whatever house I'm in, I hope she's not in it," said Ron.**"

"That wasn't very nice," said Lily.

"Mum, we all ended up being friends in time," Harry said, "And we apologized, ok?"

"**He threw his wand back into his trunk. "Stupid spell - George gave it to me, bet he knew it was a dud." **

**"What house are your brothers in." asked Harry.**

**"Gryffindor," said Ron. Gloom seemed to be settling on him again. "Mom and Dad were in it, too. I don't know what they'll say if I'm not. I don't suppose Ravenclaw would be too bad, but imagine if they put me in Slytherin." **

**"That's the house Vol-, I mean, You-Know-Who was in." **

**"Yeah," said Ron. He flopped back into his seat, looking depressed.**

**"You know, I think the ends of Scabbers' whiskers are a bit lighter," said Harry,**"

"Aw, sweet," cooed Lily.

Harry was starting to resemble a ripe tomato.

"**trying to take Ron's mind off houses. "So what do your oldest brothers do now that they've left, anyway." Harry was wondering what a wizard did once he'd finished school.**

**"Charlie's in Romania studying dragons, and Bill's in Africa doing something for Gringotts," said Ron. "Did you hear about Gringotts? It's been all over the Daily Prophet, but I don't suppose you get that with the Muggles - someone tried to rob a high security vault." Harry stared.**

**"Really? What happened to them?" **

**"Nothing, that's why it's such big news. They haven't been caught. My dad says it must've been a powerful Dark wizard to get round Gringotts, but they don't think they took anything, that's what's odd. 'Course, everyone gets scared when something like this happens in case You-Know-Who's behind it."**"

"That is odd," said Lily in agreement, "Only a really powerful witch or wizard could've broken in and make it out alive."

"**Harry turned this news over in his mind. He was starting to get a prickle of fear every time You- Know-Who was mentioned. He supposed this was all part of entering the magical world, but it had been a lot more comfortable saying "Voldemort" without worrying.**

**"What's your Quidditch team?" Ron asked.**

**"Er - I don't know any," Harry confessed.**"

"Please tell me you're at least a decent flyer," James begged of Harry.

"Sorry dad," Harry said with a great idea to prank his father – and to do that he has to keep his place as seeker on Gryffindor's house team a secret, "I don't last five minutes on a broomstick."

James looked sombre, "I…I suppose I can live with that. You're still my son, and that's all that matters…"

"**"What!" Ron looked dumbfounded. "Oh, you wait, it's the best game in the world -" And he was off, explaining all about the four balls and the positions of the seven players, describing famous games he'd been to with his brothers and the broomstick he'd like to get if he had the money. He was just taking Harry through the finer points of the game when the compartment door slid open yet again, but it wasn't Neville the toadless boy, or Hermione Granger this time.**

**Three boys entered, and Harry recognized the middle one at once: it was the pale boy from Madam Malkin's robe shop. He was looking at Harry with a lot more interest than he'd shown back in Diagon Alley.**

**"Is it true?" he said. "They're saying all down the train that Harry Potter's in this compartment. So it's you, is it?" **

**"Yes," said Harry. He was looking at the other boys. Both of them were thickset and looked extremely mean. Standing on either side of the pale boy, they looked like bodyguards.**

**"Oh, this is Crabbe and this is Goyle," said the pale boy carelessly, noticing where Harry was looking. "And my name's Malfoy, Draco Malfoy."**"

"Is that a James Bond reference?!" Lily grinned.

"Not such a good thing coming from Malfoy, mum," said Harry.

"**Ron gave a slight cough, which might have been hiding a snigger. Draco Malfoy looked at him.**

**"Think my name's funny, do you. No need to ask who you are. My father told me all the Weasleys have red hair, freckles, and more children than they can afford." **

**He turned back to Harry. "You'll soon find out some wizarding families are much better than others, Potter. You don't want to go making friends with the wrong sort. I can help you there." He held out his hand to shake Harry's, but Harry didn't take it.**

**"I think I can tell who the wrong sorts are for myself, thanks," he said coolly.**"

"Well said, Harry," said Sirius.

"**Draco Malfoy didn't go red, but a pink tinge appeared in his pale cheeks.**

**"I'd be careful if I were you, Potter," he said slowly. "Unless you're a bit politer you'll go the same way as your parents.**"

"HOW DARE HE?!" cried out Sirius.

"**They didn't know what was good for them, either. You hang around with riffraff like the Weasleys and that Hagrid, and it'll rub off on you."**

**Both Harry and Ron stood up.**

**"Say that again," Ron said, his face as red as his hair.**

**"Oh, you're going to fight us, are you." Malfoy sneered.**

**"Unless you get out now," said Harry, more bravely than he felt, because Crabbe and Goyle were a lot bigger than him or Ron.**

**"But we don't feet like leaving, do we, boys. We've eaten all our food and you still seem to have some." Goyle reached toward the Chocolate Frogs next to Ron - Ron leapt forward, but before he'd so much as touched Goyle, Goyle let out a horrible yell.**

**Scabbers the rat was hanging off his finger, sharp little teeth sunk deep into Goyle's knuckle Crabbe and Malfoy backed away as Goyle swung Scabbers round and round, howling, and when Scabbets finally flew off and hit the window, all three of them disappeared at once. Perhaps they thought there were more rats lurking among the sweets, or perhaps they'd heard footsteps, because a second later, Hermione Granger had come in.**

**"What has been going on?" she said, looking at the sweets all over the floor and Ron picking up Scabbers by his tail. **

**"I think he's been knocked out," Ron said to Harry. He looked closer at Scabbers. "No - I don't believe it - he's gone back to sleep-" And so he had.  
"You've met Malfoy before." **

**Harry explained about their meeting in Diagon Alley.**

**"I've heard of his family," said Ron darkly. "They were some of the first to come back to our side,**"

"Correction," said Harry, "They NEVER came back to our side."

"**after You-Know-Who disappeared. Said they'd been bewitched. My dad doesn't believe it. He says Malfoy's father didn't need an excuse to go over to the Dark Side." He turned to Hermione. "Can we help you with something?"**

**"You'd better hurry up and put your robes on, I've just been up to the front to ask the conductor, and he says we're nearly there. You haven't been fighting, have you? You'll be in trouble before we even get there!"**"

"Technically it wasn't them who did the fighting," said Sirius.

"**Scabbers has been fighting, not us," said Ron, scowling at her. "Would you mind leaving while we change."**

**"All right - I only came in here because people outside are behaving very childishly, racing up and down the corridors," said Hermione in a sniffy voice.**

**"And you've got dirt on your nose, by the way, did you know." Ron glared at her as she left. Harry peered out of the window. It was getting dark. He could see mountains and forests under a deep purple sky. The train did seem to be slowing down.**

**He and Ron took off their jackets and pulled on their long black robes.**

**Ron's were a bit short for him, you could see his trainers underneath them.**

**A voice echoed through the train: "We will be reaching Hogwarts in five minutes' time. Please leave your luggage on the train, it will be taken to the school separately." Harry's stomach lurched with nerves and Ron, he saw, looked pale under his freckles. They crammed their pockets with the last of the sweets**"

"Of course," Lily rolled her eyes.

"**and joined the crowd thronging the corridor.**

**The train slowed right down and finally stopped. People pushed their way toward the door and out on to a tiny, dark platform. Harry shivered in the cold night air. Then a lamp came bobbing over the heads of the students, and Harry heard a familiar voice: "Firs' years! Firs' years over here! All right there, Harry." Hagrid's big hairy face beamed over the sea of heads. **

**"C'mon, follow me - any more firs' years. Mind yer step, now! Firs' years follow me!" Slipping and stumbling, they followed Hagrid down what seemed to be a steep, narrow path. It was so dark on either side of them that Harry thought there must be thick trees there. Nobody spoke much. Neville, the boy who kept losing his toad, sniffed once or twice. **

**"Ye' all get yer firs' sight o' Hogwarts in a sec," Hagrid called over his shoulder, "jus' round this bend here." There was a loud "Oooooh!"**"

"That never chances," said Sirius.

"**The narrow path had opened suddenly onto the edge of a great black take.**

**Perched atop a high mountain on the other side, its windows sparkling in the starry sky, was a vast castle with many turrets and towers.**

**"No more'n four to a boat!" Hagrid called, pointing to a fleet of little boats sitting in the water by the shore. Harry and Ron were followed into their boat by Neville and Hermione. "Everyone in." shouted Hagrid, who had a boat to himself. "Right then - FORWARD!" And the fleet of little boats moved off all at once, gliding across the lake, which was as smooth as glass. Everyone was silent, staring up at the great castle overhead. It towered over them as they sailed nearer and nearer to the cliff on which it stood.**

**"Heads down!" yelled Hagrid.**"

"Which this mutt forgot to do," James glared at Sirius.

"What happened?" asked Harry curiously.

"Well," said James, "This mutt here didn't listen, and when he fell in he grabbed hold of Remus, who in in turn grabbed hold of me and we all fell in."

Lily and Harry laughed at this.

"**as the first boats reached the cliff; they all bent their heads and the little boats carried them through a curtain of ivy that hid a wide opening in the cliff face. They were carried along a dark tunnel, which seemed to be taking them right underneath the castle, until they reached a kind of underground harbour, where they clambered out onto rocks and pebbles.**

**"Oy, you there! Is this your toad?" said Hagrid, who was checking the boats as people climbed out of them.**

**"Trevor!" cried Neville blissfully, holding out his hands. Then they clambered up a passageway in the rock after Hagrid's lamp, coming out at last onto smooth, damp grass right in the shadow of the castle.**

**They walked up a flight of stone steps and crowded around the huge, Oak front door.**

**"Everyone here. You there, still got yer toad?" Hagrid raised a gigantic fist and knocked three times on the castle door.**"

"That's the end of the chapter," said Remus, and he hands the book to Sirius.


	10. The Sorting Hat

**BOOKS FROM THE FUTURE: THE PHILSOPHER'S STONE**

_Chapter 9: The Sorting Hat _

* * *

**A/N: This chapter was completed at 05:09, on Tuesday, 23 July 2013. And I'm early with this one! Yay! **

Sirius took the book and read, "**Chapter 7: The Sorting Hat**."

"Cool," James said, "We get to read about Harry's sorting!"

Harry smiled weakly. How will his parents react to finding out about his nearly being placed in Slytherin?

"**The door swung open at once. A tall, black-haired witch in emerald-green robes stood there.**"

"Minnie," said James and Sirius.

Lily rolled her eyes with an exasperated sigh.

"**She had a very stern face and Harry's first thought was that this was not someone to cross.**"

"That's right," snorted James.

"Then how come do you and Sirius do it constantly?" Lily asked.

"We're just keeping her on her toes," said Sirius with a chuckle.

"**"The firs' years, Professor McGonagall," said Hagrid.**

**"Thank you, Hagrid. I will take them from here." She pulled the door wide. The entrance hall was so big you could have fit the whole of the Dursleys' house in it. The stone walls were lit with flaming torches like the ones at Gringotts, the ceiling was too high to make out, and a magnificent marble staircase facing them led to the upper floors.**

**They followed Professor McGonagall across the flagged stone floor. Harry could hear the drone of hundreds of voices from a doorway to the right -the rest of the school must already be here - but Professor McGonagall showed the first years into a small, empty chamber off the hall. They crowded in, standing rather closer together than they would usually have done, peering about nervously.**

**"Welcome to Hogwarts," said Professor McGonagall. "The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be something like your family within Hogwarts. **

**You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory, and spend free time in your house common room. The four houses are called Gryffindor,**"

Sirius, James and Harry cheered while Remus and Lily shook their heads bemusedly.

"**Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your house points, while any rule breaking will lose house points.**"

"You know," Lily began, "I wonder why most pranksters end up in Gryffindor…we always end up losing the most house points with all the pranking going on…"

"**At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the house cup, a great honour. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours. The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting." Her eyes lingered for a moment on Neville's cloak, which was fastened under his left ear,**"

"How on earth did that happen?" asked Remus.

"**and on Ron's smudged nose. Harry nervously tried to flatten his hair.**"

"That's not going to work, Harry," said James.

"I know," said Harry with a sigh, before glancing at Sirius. Unbeknownst to the other readers, he'd been glancing at Sirius all the time since they started reading – he couldn't help but remember what happened last year…

"**"I shall return when we are ready for you," said Professor McGonagall.**

**"Please wait quietly." She left the chamber. Harry swallowed.**

**"How exactly do they sort us into houses." he asked Ron.**

**"Some sort of test, I think. Fred said it hurts a lot, but I think he was joking."**

**Harry's heart gave a horrible jolt. A test. In front of the whole school. But he didn't know any magic yet - what on earth would he have to do. He hadn't expected something like this the moment they arrived.**"

"That's because it's too soon," said Lily, "They won't do something like that."

"**He looked around anxiously and saw that everyone else looked terrified, too. No one was talking much except Hermione Granger, who was whispering very fast about all the spells she'd learned and wondering which one she'd need. Harry tried hard not to listen to her.**"

"Oh, Merlin, does this girl ever breathe?" asked Sirius.

"Yes," said Harry, "When she has her nose in a book…but other than that…"

"She sounds just like Lily," said Sirius, and then shrunk under Lily's gaze.

"**He'd never been more nervous, never, not even when he'd had to take a school report home to the Dursleys saying that he'd somehow turned his teacher's wig blue.**"

Laughter at this. Harry blushed.

"**He kept his eyes fixed on the door. Any second now, Professor McGonagall would come back and lead him to his doom.**"

"Oh, Harry, stop being so melodramatic," said James.

"Sorry," Harry gave an impish grin, "I didn't know my thoughts were going to be published and read."

"**Then something happened that made him jump about a foot in the air - several people behind him screamed.**"

"At least you didn't scream like a girl," said Sirius, and Remus turned blood red.

"**"What the -" He gasped. So did the people around him. About twenty ghosts had just streamed through the back wall. Pearly-white and slightly transparent, they glided across the room talking to one another and hardly glancing at the first years. They seemed to be arguing. What looked like a fat little monk was saying: "Forgive and forget, I say, we ought to give him a second chance -"**"

"Oh, it's the infamous Peeves argument again," said James.

"Do they have to argue about this every year?" Remus wondered, "I'm mean, they can give it a rest…"

"**"My dear Friar, haven't we given Peeves all the chances he deserves. He gives us all a bad name and you know, he's not really even a ghost - I say, what are you all doing here?" A ghost wearing a ruff and tights had suddenly noticed the first years.**"

"NICK!"

"**Nobody answered.**

**"New students!" said the Fat Friar, smiling around at them. "About to be Sorted, I suppose." A few people nodded mutely.**

**"Hope to see you in Hufflepuff!" said the Friar. "My old house, you know."**

**"Move along now," said a sharp voice. "The Sorting Ceremony's about to start." Professor McGonagall had returned. One by one, the ghosts floated away through the opposite wall.**

**"Now, form a line," Professor McGonagall told the first years, "and follow me." Feeling oddly as though his legs had turned to lead,**"

"I think everyone feels like that," said Remus.

"**Harry got into line behind a boy with sandy hair, with Ron behind him, and they walked out of the chamber, back across the hall, and through a pair of double doors into the Great Hall.**

**Harry had never even imagined such a strange and splendid place.**"

"It IS beautiful," Lily agreed.

"**It was lit by thousands and thousands of candles that were floating in mid-air over four long tables, where the rest of the students were sitting.**

**These tables were laid with glittering golden plates and goblets. At the top of the hall was another long table where the teachers were sitting.**

**Professor McGonagall led the first years up here, so that they came to a halt in a line facing the other students, with the teachers behind them.**

**The hundreds of faces staring at them looked like pale lanterns in the flickering candlelight. Dotted here and there among the students, the ghosts shone misty silver. Mainly to avoid all the staring eyes, Harry looked upward and saw a velvety black ceiling dotted with stars. He heard Hermione whisper, "It's bewitched to look like the sky outside. I read about it in Hogwarts, A History."**"

"And that's one of the reasons we keep Hermione around," Harry said fondly, "She sometimes sounds like she'd swallowed all the books in the library."

"**It was hard to believe there was a ceiling there at all, and that the Great Hall didn't simply open on to the heavens.**

**Harry quickly looked down again as Professor McGonagall silently placed a four-legged stool in front of the first years. On top of the stool she put a pointed wizard's hat. This hat was patched and frayed and extremely dirty. Aunt Petunia wouldn't have let it in the house.**"

Sirius and James cracked identical evil grins, and Lily couldn't help but feel slightly sorry for her sister.

"**Maybe they had to try and get a rabbit out of it; Harry thought wildly, that seemed the sort of thing**"

"What?" Sirius looked astounded.

"Muggle magic trick," said Lily, "I'll explain later.

"**noticing that everyone in the hall was now staring at the hat, he stared at it, too. For a few seconds, there was complete silence. Then the hat twitched. A rip near the brim opened wide like a mouth - and the hat began to sing:**"

"You're gonna sing it, aren't you?" Lily asked, half-unnerved.

"Yep," Sirius said, and sang in in an off-pitch voice.

"_**"Oh, you may not think I'm pretty, **_

_**But don't judge on what you see, **_

_**I'll eat myself if you can find a smarter hat than me.**__" _

"Challenge accepted," said James.

"_**You can keep your bowlers black, **_

_**Your top hats sleek and tall, **_

_**For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat and I can cap them all.**_

_**There's nothing hidden in your head The Sorting Hat can't see, **_

_**So try me on and I will tell you where you ought to be.**_

_**You**__**might belong in Gryffindor,**__" _

Everyone cheered again.

"_**Where dwell the brave at heart, **_

_**Their daring, nerve, and chivalry set Gryffindors apart;**_

_**You might belong in Hufflepuff, **_

_**Where they are just and loyal, **_

_**Those patient Hufflepuffs are true and unafraid of toil; **_

_**Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,**_

_**If you've a ready mind, **_

_**Where those of wit and learning, **_

_**Will always find their kind; **_

_**Or perhaps in Slytherin **_

_**You'll make your real friends, **_

_**Those cunning folk use any means to achieve their ends.**_

_**So put me on! **_

_**Don't be afraid! **_

_**And don't get in a flap! **_

_**You're in safe hands (though I have none) **_

_**For I'm a Thinking Cap!"**_"

"That song was much nicer than the ones we got," said Remus.

"Yeah," agreed James, "They're all so…depressing."

"**The whole hall burst into applause as the hat finished its song. It bowed to each of the four tables and then became quite still again.**

**"So we've just got to try on the hat!" Ron whispered to Harry. "I'll kill Fred; he was going on about wrestling a troll."**"

"Why don't you stop listening to them, then?" said Remus, "Like I should stop listening to Padfoot and Prongs."

"**Harry smiled weakly. Yes, trying on the hat was a lot better than having to do a spell, but he did wish they could have tried it on without everyone watching. The hat seemed to be asking rather a lot; Harry didn't feel brave or quick-witted or any of it at the moment. If only the hat had mentioned a house for people who felt a bit queasy, that would have been the one for him.**"

"That would've been the house for everyone," laughed Lily.

"**Professor McGonagall now stepped forward holding a long roll of parchment.**

**"When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted," she said. "Abbott, Hannah!" A pink-faced girl with blonde pigtails stumbled out of line, put on the hat, which fell right down over her eyes, and sat down. A moment's pause - "HUFFLEPUFF!" shouted the hat.**

**The table on the right cheered and clapped as Hannah went to sit down at the Hufflepuff table. Harry saw the ghost of the Fat Friar waving merrily at her.**

**"Bones, Susan!" **

**"HUFFLEPUFF!" shouted the hat again, and Susan scuttled off to sit next to Hannah.**

**"Boot, Terry!" **

**"RAVENCLAW!" The table second from the left clapped this time; several Ravenclaws stood up to shake hands with Terry as he joined them.**

**"Brocklehurst, Mandy" went to Ravenclaw too, but "Brown, Lavender" became the first new Gryffindor, and the table on the far left exploded with cheers; Harry could see Ron's twin brothers catcalling.**"

James and Sirius did the same to Harry's amusement.

"**"Bulstrode, Millicent" then became a Slytherin. Perhaps it was Harry's imagination, after all he'd heard about Slytherin, but he thought they looked like an unpleasant lot.**"

"That's because of all the inbreeding," said Sirius, and Remus stopped himself from implying that Sirius was possibly inbred.

"**He was starting to feel definitely sick now. He remembered being picked for teams during gym at his old school.**

**He had always been last to be chosen, not because he was no good, but because no one wanted Dudley to think they liked him.**"

There were quite a few growls at this.

"**"Finch-Fletchley, Justin!" **

**"HUFFLEPUFF!"**

**Sometimes, Harry noticed, the hat shouted out the house at once, but at others it took a little while to decide. "Finnigan, Seamus," the sandy-haired boy next to Harry in the line, sat on the stool for almost a whole minute before the hat declared him a Gryffindor.**

**"Granger, Hermione!" Hermione almost ran to the stool and jammed the hat eagerly on her head.**

**"GRYFFINDOR!" shouted the hat. Ron groaned.**"

Lily frowned, but said nothing.

"**A horrible thought struck Harry, as horrible thoughts always do when you're very nervous. What if he wasn't chosen at all? What if he just sat there with the hat over his eyes for ages, until Professor McGonagall jerked it off his head and said there had obviously been a mistake and he'd better get back on the train.**"

"That won't happen," said Remus.

**When Neville Longbottom, the boy who kept losing his toad, was called, he fell over on his way to the stool. The hat took a long time to decide with Neville. When it finally shouted, "GRYFFINDOR," Neville ran off still wearing it, and had to jog back amid gales of laughter**"

"You've got to admit that's funny," chuckled Sirius, "Poor kid."

"**to give it to "MacDougal, Morag." Malfoy swaggered forward when his name was called and got his wish at once: the hat had barely touched his head when it screamed, "SLYTHERIN!"**"

"Oh, of course," Lily rolled her eyes.

"**Malfoy went to join his friends Crabbe and Goyle, looking pleased with himself.**

**There weren't many people left now. "Moon" "Nott" "Parkinson" then a pair of twin girls, "Patil" and "Patil" then "Perks, Sally-Anne" and then, at last - "Potter, Harry!" As Harry stepped forward, whispers suddenly broke out like little hissing fires all over the hall.**"

Harry groaned and muttered something about unwelcome fame.

"**"Potter, did she say." **

"**The Harry Potter." **

**The last thing Harry saw before the hat dropped over his eyes was the hall full of people craning to get a good look at him. Next second he was looking at the black inside of the hat. He waited. **

**"Hmm," said a small voice in his ear. "Difficult. Very difficult.**"

"What's so difficult?" asked James, "He's my son – a born Gryffindor."

"**Plenty of courage, I see. Not a bad mind either. There's talent, A goodness, yes - and a nice thirst to prove yourself, now that's interesting... So where shall I put you." Harry gripped the edges of the stool and thought, **_**Not Slytherin, not Slytherin.**_

**"Not Slytherin, eh." said the small voice. "Are you sure. You could be great, you know, it's all here in your head, and Slytherin will help you on the way to greatness, no doubt about that - no. Well, if you're sure - better be GRYFFINDOR!"**"

Everyone looked at Harry.

"So," Lily broke the silence, "You could've gone into any house but Slytherin and Gryffindor was the most potential?"

Harry nodded.

"Harry, we would've loved you even if you were a Slytherin," said James.

Harry met his father's eyes, "Really?"

"Of course, son."

"**Harry heard the hat shout the last word to the whole hall. He took off the hat and walked shakily toward the Gryffindor table. He was so relieved to have been chosen and not put in Slytherin, he hardly noticed that he was getting the loudest cheer yet. Percy the Prefect got up and shook his hand vigorously, while the Weasley twins yelled, "We got Potter! We got Potter!" **

**Harry sat down opposite the ghost in the ruff he'd seen earlier. The ghost patted his arm, giving Harry the sudden, horrible feeling he'd just plunged it into a bucket of ice-cold water.**"

"Oh, I hate it when they do that!" Lily shivered.

"**He could see the High Table properly now. At the end nearest him sat Hagrid, who caught his eye and gave him the thumbs up. Harry grinned back. And there, in the centre of the High Table, in a large gold chair, sat Albus Dumbledore. Harry recognized him at once from the card he'd gotten out of the Chocolate Frog on the train. Dumbledore's silver hair was the only thing in the whole hall that shone as brightly as the ghosts. Harry spotted Professor Quirrell, too, the nervous young man from the Leaky Cauldron. He was looking very peculiar in a large purple turban.**

**And now there were only three people left to be sorted. "Thomas, Dean," a Black boy even taller than Ron, joined Harry at the Gryffindor table.**

**"Turpin, Lisa," became a Ravenclaw and then it was Ron's turn. He was pale green by now. Harry crossed his fingers under the table and a second later the hat had shouted, "GRYFFINDOR!" Harry clapped loudly with the rest as Ron collapsed into the chair next to him.**

**"Well done, Ron, excellent," said Percy Weasley pompously across Harry as "Zabini, Blaise," was made a Slytherin. Professor McGonagall rolled up her scroll and took the Sorting Hat away.**

**Harry looked down at his empty gold plate. He had only just realized how hungry he was. The pumpkin pasties seemed ages ago.**

**Albus Dumbledore had gotten to his feet. He was beaming at the students, his arms opened wide, as if nothing could have pleased him more than to see them all there.**

**"Welcome," he said. "Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! Thank you!" He sat back down. Everybody clapped and cheered. Harry didn't know whether to laugh or not.**

**"Is he - a bit mad?" he asked Percy uncertainly.**

**"Mad." said Percy airily. "He's a genius! Best wizard in the world! But he is a bit mad, yes. Potatoes, Harry." Harry's mouth fell open. The dishes in front of him were now piled with food. He had never seen so many things he liked to eat on one table: roast beef, roast chicken, pork chops and lamb chops, sausages, bacon and steak, boiled potatoes, roast potatoes, fries, Yorkshire pudding, peas, carrots, gravy, ketchup, and, for some strange reason, peppermint humbugs.**

**The Dursleys had never exactly starved Harry,**"

"What's your definition of starved, then?" asked Lily coldly and Harry thought best not to answer.

"**but he'd never been allowed to eat as much as he liked. Dudley had always taken anything that Harry really wanted, even if it made him sick.**"

"Pig," said Remus.

"**Harry piled his plate with a bit of everything except the peppermints and began to eat.**

**It was all delicious.**

**"That does look good," said the ghost in the ruff sadly, watching Harry cut up his steak, **

**"Can't you -."**

**"I haven't eaten for nearly four hundred years," said the ghost. "I don't need to, of course, but one does miss it. I don't think I've introduced myself. Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington at your service. Resident ghost of Gryffindor Tower." **

**"I know who you are!" said Ron suddenly. "My brothers told me about you - you're Nearly Headless Nick!" **

**"I would prefer you to call me Sir Nicholas de Mimsy -" the ghost began stiffly, but sandy-haired Seamus Finnigan interrupted.**

**"Nearly Headless. How can you be nearly headless." Sir Nicholas looked extremely miffed, as if their little chat wasn't going at all the way he wanted.**"

"That's still the same," said Sirius with a chuckle.

"**"Like this," he said irritably. He seized his left ear and pulled. His whole head swung off his neck and fell onto his shoulder as if it was on a hinge. Someone had obviously tried to behead him, but not done it properly. **

**Looking pleased at the stunned looks on their faces, Nearly Headless Nick flipped his head back onto his neck, coughed, and said, "So - new Gryffindors! I hope you're going to help us win the house championship this year. Gryffindors have never gone so long without winning. Slytherin's have got the cup six years in a row!**"

"WHAT?!" Sirius' eyes widened in shock, "Six years?!"

"That's an outrage!" James agreed.

"**The Bloody Baron's becoming almost unbearable - he's the Slytherin ghost." Harry looked over at the Slytherin table and saw a horrible ghost sitting there, with blank staring eyes, a gaunt face, and robes stained with silver blood. He was right next to Malfoy who, Harry was pleased to see, didn't look too pleased with the seating arrangements.**

**"How did he get covered in blood?" asked Seamus with great interest.**

**"I've never asked," said Nearly Headless Nick delicately.**

**When everyone had eaten as much as they could, the remains of the food faded from the plates, leaving them sparkling clean as before. A moment later the desserts appeared. Blocks of ice cream in every flavour you could think of, apple pies, treacle tarts, chocolate éclairs and jam doughnuts, trifle, strawberries, jelly, rice pudding - As Harry helped himself to a treacle tart,**"

"My favourite," said Lily and Harry at the same time.

"**the talk turned to their families.**

**"I'm half-and-half," said Seamus. "Me dad's a Muggle. Mam didn't tell him she was a witch 'til after they were married. Bit of a nasty shock for him." The others laughed.**"

"It isn't a laughing matter, not really," said Remus.

"**"What about you, Neville." said Ron.**

**"Well, my gran brought me up and she's a witch," said Neville, "but the family thought I was all- Muggle for ages. My Great Uncle Algie kept trying to catch me off my guard and force some magic out of me –**"

"You can't force magic out of someone," said Lily stiffly, "Just like you can't stomp it out them."

"**he pushed me off the end of Blackpool pier once, I nearly drowned - but nothing happened until I was eight. Great Uncle Algie came round for dinner, and he was hanging me out of an upstairs window by the ankles when my Great Auntie Enid offered him a meringue and he accidentally let go. But I bounced - all the way down the garden and into the road.**

**They were all really pleased, Gran was crying, she was so happy. And you should have seen their faces when I got in here - they thought I might not be magic enough to come, you see. Great Uncle Algie was so pleased he bought me my toad." **

**On Harry's other side, Percy Weasley and Hermione were talking about lessons ("I do hope they start right away, there's so much to learn, I'm particularly interested in Transfiguration, you know, turning something into something else, of course, it's supposed to be very difficult-"; "You'll be starting small, just matches into needles and that sort of thing - ").**

**Harry, who was starting to feel warm and sleepy, looked up at the High Table again. Hagrid was drinking deeply from his goblet.**

**Professor McGonagall was talking to Professor Dumbledore. Professor Quirrell, in his absurd turban, was talking to a teacher with greasy black hair, a hooked nose, and sallow skin.**

**It happened very suddenly. The hook-nosed teacher looked past Quirrell's turban straight into Harry's eyes - and a sharp, hot pain shot across the scar on Harry's forehead.**

**"Ouch!" Harry clapped a hand to his head.**"

"What happened?" James asked, rather alarmed.

Harry just motioned to the book.

"**"What is it?" asked Percy.**

**"N-nothing." The pain had gone as quickly as it had come. Harder to shake off was the feeling Harry had gotten from the teacher's look - a feeling that he didn't like Harry at all.**

**"Who's that teacher talking to Professor Quirrell " he asked Percy. **

**"Oh, you know Quirrell already, do you. No wonder he's looking so nervous, that's Professor Snape.**"

"What?!" Sirius' eyes were as wide as saucers as he stared at the book, "Snape, a PROFESSOR?!"

"**He teaches Potions, but he doesn't want to - everyone knows he's after Quirrell's job. Knows an awful lot about the Dark Arts, Snape."**"

"Bet he got some first-hand experience as a Death Eater." Lily glared at James for this comment.

"**Harry watched Snape for a while, but Snape didn't look at him again.**

**At last, the desserts too disappeared, and Professor Dumbledore got to his feet again. The hall fell silent.**

**"Ahem - just a few more words now that we are all fed and watered.**"

"Are we horses?" snorted Harry, much to the other's delight.

"**have a few start-of-term notices to give you. First years should note that the forest on the grounds is forbidden to all pupils. And a few of our older students would do well to remember that as well." Dumbledore's twinkling eyes flashed in the direction of the Weasley twins.**"

"He always aims that look at us," said Sirius.

"**I have also been asked by Mr. Filch, the caretaker, to remind you all that no magic should be used between classes in the corridors.**

**Quidditch trials will be held in the second week of the term. Anyone interested in playing for their house teams should contact Madam Hooch.**"

James sobered up at the reminder that his son 'doesn't' play Quidditch. Harry noticed and had to stop himself from grinning, his dad would be so surprised to find out the truth on that matter.

"**And finally, I must tell you that this year, the third-floor corridor on the right-hand side is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a very painful death." Harry laughed, but he was one of the few who did. **

**"He's not serious." he muttered to Percy.**

**"Must be," said Percy, frowning at Dumbledore. "It's odd, because he usually gives us a reason why we're not allowed to go somewhere - the forest's full of dangerous beasts, everyone knows that. I do think he might have told us prefects, at least." "And now, before we go to bed, let us sing the school song!" cried Dumbledore. Harry noticed that the other teachers' smiles had become rather fixed. **

**Dumbledore gave his wand a little flick, as if he was trying to get a fly off the end, and a long golden ribbon flew out of it, which rose high above the tables and twisted itself, snakelike, into words. **

**"Everyone pick their favourite tune," said Dumbledore, "and off we go!" And the school bellowed: "Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts, Teach us something please, Whether we be old and bald Or young with scabby knees, Our heads could do with filling With some interesting stuff, For now they're bare and full of air, Dead flies and bits of fluff, So teach us things worth knowing, Bring back what we've forgot, just do your best, we'll do the rest, And learn until our brains all rot. **

**Everybody finished the song at different times. At last, only the Weasley twins were left singing along to a very slow funeral march. **

**Dumbledore conducted their last few lines with his wand and when they had finished, he was one of those who clapped loudest. **

**"Ah, music," he said, wiping his eyes. "A magic beyond all we do here! And now, bedtime. Off you trot!" The Gryffindor first years followed Percy through the chattering crowds, out of the Great Hall, and up the marble staircase. Harry's legs were like lead again, but only because he was so tired and full of food. He was too sleepy even to be surprised that the people in the portraits along the corridors whispered and pointed as they passed, or that twice Percy led them through doorways hidden behind sliding panels and hanging tapestries. They climbed more staircases, yawning and dragging their feet, and Harry was just wondering how much farther they had to go when they came to a sudden halt. **

**A bundle of walking sticks was floating in midair ahead of them, and as Percy took a step toward them they started throwing themselves at him. **

**"Peeves," Percy whispered to the first years. "A poltergeist." He raised his voice, "Peeves - show yourself" A loud, rude sound, like the air being let out of a balloon, answered. **

**"Do you want me to go to the Bloody Baron?"**"

"Aw, pulling the Bloody Baron card so soon?" Sirius pouted.

"You know, Siri, you do look a bit like a dog when you do that!" Harry laughed.

"**There was a pop, and a little man with wicked, dark eyes and a wide mouth appeared, floating cross- legged in the air, clutching the walking sticks.**

**"Oooooooh!" he said, with an evil cackle. "Ickle Firsties! What fun!" He swooped suddenly at them. They all ducked.**

**"Go away, Peeves, or the Baron'll hear about this, I mean it!" barked Percy. Peeves stuck out his tongue and vanished, dropping the walking sticks on Neville's head.**"

"Ouch!" everyone winced.

"**They heard him zooming away, rattling coats of armour as he passed.**

**"You want to watch out for Peeves," said Percy, as they set off again.**

**"The Bloody Baron's the only one who can control him, he won't even listen to us prefects.**"

'Oh, who listens to a prefect?" James asked only to receive glares form Lily and Remus.

"**Here we are."**

**At the very end of the corridor hung a portrait of a very fat woman in a pink silk dress.**

**"Password." she said. **

**"Caput Draconis," said Percy, and the portrait swung forward to reveal a round hole in the wall. They all scrambled through it - Neville needed a leg up - and found themselves in the Gryffindor common room, a cosy, round room full of squashy armchairs.**

**Percy directed the girls through one door to their dormitory and the boys through another. At the top of a spiral staircase - they were obviously in one of the towers - they found their beds at last: five four-posters hung with deep red, velvet curtains. Their trunks had already been brought up. Too tired to talk much, they pulled on their pyjamas and fell into bed. **

"**Great food, isn't it." Ron muttered to Harry through the hangings.**

**"Get off, Scabbers! He's chewing my sheets."**"

"Peter used to do that," said James, "I wonder why he isn't here?"

Harry darkened a little at the mention of Peter.

"**Harry was going to ask Ron if he'd had any of the treacle tart, but he fell asleep almost at once.**

**Perhaps Harry had eaten a bit too much, because he had a very strange dream. He was wearing Professor Quirrell's turban, which kept talking to him, telling him he must transfer to Slytherin at once, because it was his destiny. Harry told the turban he didn't want to be in Slytherin; it got heavier and heavier; he tried to pull it off but it tightened painfully - and there was Malfoy, laughing at him as he struggled with it -then Malfoy turned into the hook-nosed teacher, Snape, whose laugh became high and cold - there was a burst of green light and Harry woke, sweating and shaking.**"

"Okay, that was an extremely weird dream," said Remus.

"**He rolled over and fell asleep again, and when he woke next day, he didn't remember the dream at all.**"

"Right, James' turn to read," Sirius said, "And Harry can read the chapter after." He handed James the book.


	11. The Potions Master

**BOOKS FROM THE FUTURE: THE PHILSOPHER'S STONE**

_Chapter 10: The Potions Master_

* * *

**A/N: This chapter was completed on Saturday, 03 August 2013 at 04:20 pm. Yeah, I didn't forget about this, I just didn't find the time. And it's now unofficially two months till my birthday…**

"**Chapter 8: The Potions Master**," read James.

"Oh, no!" Sirius groaned, "The greasy git's got a chapter all to himself!"

"Shut up, Black, and we'll get through the chapter faster," snapped Lily.

"**"****There, look." **

**"Where?"**

**"Next to the tall kid with the red hair." **

Harry groaned as he remembered those first mornings at Hogwarts.

"**"Wearing the glasses." **

**"Did you see his face?" **

**"Did you see his scar?" Whispers followed Harry from the moment he left his dormitory the next day.**"

"That got really annoying really fast," said Harry.

"**People lining up outside classrooms stood on tiptoe to get a look at him, or doubled back to pass him in the corridors again, staring.**

**Harry wished they wouldn't, because he was trying to concentrate on finding his way to classes.**

**There were a hundred and forty-two staircases at Hogwarts:**"

"You counted?" asked Remus, shocked.

"No, Hermione told me so," Harry answered, "It's somewhere in _Hogwarts: A History_."

"**wide, sweeping ones; narrow, rickety ones; some that led somewhere different on a Friday; some with a vanishing step halfway up that you had to remember to jump. Then there were doors that wouldn't open unless you asked politely, or tickled them in exactly the right place,**"

James and Sirius grinned, thinking about the Hogwarts kitchens.

"**and doors that weren't really doors at all, but solid walls just pretending. It was also very hard to remember where anything was, because it all seemed to move around a lot. The people in the portraits kept going to visit each other, and Harry was sure the coats of armour could walk.**"

"That's because they can, but only if you know the right spell to make them do so," said Lily.

"**The ghosts didn't help, either. It was always a nasty shock when one of them glided suddenly through a door you were trying to open. Nearly Headless Nick was always happy to point new Gryffindors in the right direction,**"

"I've always liked Nick," said Lily, "I think he's the nicest ghost Hogwarts has…"

"**but Peeves the Poltergeist was worth two locked doors and a trick staircase if you met him when you were late for class. He would drop waste paper baskets on your head, pull rugs from under your feet, pelt you with bits of chalk, or sneak up behind you, invisible, grab your nose, and screech, "GOT YOUR CONK!"**"

James and Sirius started staring around the room in an 'innocent' fashion.

"You taught him that didn't you?" Harry asked, but got no reply.

"**Even worse than Peeves, if that was possible, was the caretaker, Argus Filch. Harry and Ron managed to get on the wrong side of him on their very first morning.**"

"On the _first _morning?" Lily looked shocked, before she glared at James, "I'm holding you personally responsible!"

"**Filch found them trying to force their way through a door that unluckily turned out to be the entrance to the out-of-bounds corridor on the third floor. He wouldn't believe they were lost, was sure they were trying to break into it on purpose, and was threatening to lock them in the dungeons when they were rescued by Professor Quirrell, who was passing.**"

"Wonder why?" Harry muttered darkly.

"**Filch owned a cat called Mrs. Norris, a scrawny, dust-coloured creature with bulging, lamp like eyes just like Filch's. She patrolled the corridors alone. Break a rule in front of her, put just one toe out of line, and she'd whisk off for Filch, who'd appear, wheezing, two seconds later. Filch knew the secret passageways of the school better than anyone (except perhaps the Weasley twins) and could pop up as suddenly as any of the ghosts. The students all hated him, and it was the dearest ambition of many to give Mrs. Norris a good kick.**"

"Hey, I did that once, remember Prongs?" Sirius grinned.

"Yep, good times," replied James.

Harry shook his head with a bemused smile. In his opinion, Azkaban did actually do his godfather some good…

"**And then, once you had managed to find them, there were the classes themselves. There was a lot more to magic, as Harry quickly found out, than waving your wand and saying a few funny words.**

**They had to study the night skies through their telescopes every Wednesday at midnight and learn the names of different stars and the movements of the planets. Three times a week they went out to the greenhouses behind the castle to study Herbology, with a dumpy little witch called Professor Sprout, where they learned how to take care of all the strange plants and fungi, and found out what they were used for.**

**Easily the most boring class was History of Magic, which was the only one taught by a ghost. Professor Binns**"

"What? He's still teaching?" James asked and Harry nodded.

"**had been very old indeed when he had fallen asleep in front of the staff room fire and got up next morning to teach, leaving his body behind him. Binns droned on and on while they scribbled down names and dates, and got Emetic the Evil and Uric the Oddball mixed up.**

**Professor Flitwick, the Charms teacher, was a tiny little wizard who had to stand on a pile of books to see over his desk. At the start of their first class he took the roll call, and when he reached Harry's name he gave an excited squeak and toppled out of sight.**

**Professor McGonagall was again different. Harry had been quite right to think she wasn't a teacher to cross. Strict and clever, she gave them a talking-to the moment they sat down in her first class.**

**"Transfiguration is some of the most complex and dangerous magic you will learn at Hogwarts," she said. "Anyone messing around in my class will leave and not come back.**"

"She always lets us back in," chorused James, Sirius and Remus.

"Although, it takes a while to make her feel bad about it," Sirius added.

"**You have been warned." Then she changed her desk into a pig and back again. They were all very impressed and couldn't wait to get started, but soon realized they weren't going to be changing the furniture into animals for a long time.**

**After taking a lot of complicated notes, they were each given a match and started trying to turn it into a needle. By the end of the lesson, only Hermione Granger had made any difference to her match; Professor McGonagall showed the class how it had gone all silver and pointy and gave Hermione a rare smile**"

"You haven't got my skill in Transfiguration, then?" asked James. Harry nodded.

"Have you got in mine in Charms?" asked Lily.

"Nope."

"So what is your best subject then?" asked James and Lily together.

"Wait and find out!"

"**The class everyone had really been looking forward to was Defence Against the Dark Arts, but Quirrell's lessons turned out to be a bit of a joke. His classroom smelled strongly of garlic, which everyone said was to ward off a vampire he'd met in Romania**"

"It was much worse," mumbled Harry.

"**and was afraid would be coming back to get him one of these days. His turban, he told them, had been given to him by an African prince as a thank-you for getting rid of a troublesome zombie, but they weren't sure they believed this story.**

**For one thing, when Seamus Finnigan asked eagerly to hear how Quirrell had fought off the zombie, Quirrell went pink and started talking about the weather; for another, they had noticed that a funny smell hung around the turban, and the Weasley twins insisted that it was stuffed full of garlic as well, so that Quirrell was protected wherever he went.**

**Harry was very relieved to find out that he wasn't miles behind everyone else. Lots of people had come from Muggle families and, like him, hadn't had any idea that they were witches and wizards. There was so much to learn that even people like Ron didn't have much of a head start.**

**Friday was an important day for Harry and Ron. They finally managed to find their way down to the Great Hall for breakfast without getting lost once.**"

"It took us two weeks," frowned Sirius.

"**"What have we got today?" Harry asked Ron as he poured sugar on his porridge.**

**"Double Potions with the Slytherins,"**"

"Lucky you," said James.

"**said Ron. "Snape's Head of Slytherin House. They say he always favours them - we'll be able to see if it's true."**"

"That git!" exclaimed Sirius and Lily hit him over the head.

"We don't even know if it's true!"

**"Wish McGonagall favoured us,"****said Harry. Professor McGonagall was head of Gryffindor House, but it hadn't stopped her from giving them a huge pile of homework the day before.**

**Just then, the mail arrived. Harry had gotten used to this by now, but it had given him a bit of a shock on the first morning, when about a hundred owls had suddenly streamed into the Great Hall during breakfast, circling the tables until they saw their owners, and dropping letters and packages onto their laps.**

**Hedwig hadn't brought Harry anything so far. She sometimes flew in to nibble his ear and have a bit of toast before going off to sleep in the owlery with the other school owls. This morning, however, she fluttered down between the marmalade and the sugar bowl and dropped a note onto Harry's plate. Harry tore it open at once. **

**It said, in a very untidy scrawl: **_**Dear Harry, **_

_**I know you get Friday afternoons off, so would you like to come and have a cup of tea with me around three.**_

_**I want to hear all about your first week. Send us an answer back with Hedwig.**_

_**Hagrid**_"

"Aw, that was so sweet of Hagrid," Lily said with a smile.

"**Harry borrowed Ron's quill, scribbled **_**Yes, please, see you later**_** on the back of the note, and sent Hedwig off again.**

**It was lucky that Harry had tea with Hagrid to look forward to, because the Potions lesson turned out to be the worst thing that had happened to him so far.**"

"Really? Why?" asked James.

"You'll find out in a moment," said Harry in reply.

"**At the start-of-term banquet, Harry had gotten the idea that Professor Snape disliked him. By the end of the first Potions lesson, he knew he'd been wrong. Snape didn't dislike Harry - he hated him.**"

"Er…" James grinned sheepishly, "That might be our fault, Harry. Sorry, son."

"You think?" asked Lily with a roll of her eyes.

"**Potions lessons took place down in one of the dungeons. It was colder here than up in the main castle, and would have been quite creepy enough without the pickled animals floating in glass jars all around the walls.**

**Snape, like Flitwick, started the class by taking the roll call, and like Flitwick, he paused at Harry's name.**

**"Ah, Yes," he said softly, "Harry Potter. Our new - celebrity." **

**Draco Malfoy and his friends Crabbe and Goyle sniggered behind their hands. Snape finished calling the names and looked up at the class. His eyes were black like Hagrid's, but they had none of Hagrid's warmth.**

**They were cold and empty and made you think of dark tunnels.**

**"You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion making," he began. He spoke in barely more than a whisper, but they caught every word - like Professor McGonagall,**"

"Harry, don't compare that git to Minnie," Sirius said, "What'd she ever do to you?"

"**Snape had the gift of keeping a class silent without effort. "As there is little foolish wand-waving here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic. I don't expect you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses... I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper death - if you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach."**"

"You know," Lily began, "That was actually a good speech until the dunderhead part."

"**More silence followed this little speech. Harry and Ron exchanged looks with raised eyebrows. Hermione Granger was on the edge of her seat and looked desperate to start proving that she wasn't a dunderhead.**"

"And that's Hermione for you," said Harry with a fond smile, and glanced at Sirius again. This time, however, he was caught.

"You okay, Harry?"

"Ye…not really," said Harry, as he openly looked at Sirius since the first time he got here, "But I hate to be the bearer of bad news, Sirius."

Sirius paled, "What happened?"

"No use keeping the truth from you," Harry sighed, "Best hear it from me before you read about it…Sirius, you died in my fifth year."

At these words, James and Remus also paled. Their best friend…dead as well?

Harry, not in the mood to explain more, motioned for his father to keep reading. James did so, but he looked Sirius in the eyes for a brief moment.

"**"Potter!" said Snape suddenly. "What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"**"

"That's unfair!" cried Lily. "That's a sixth year potion."

"_**Powdered root of what to an infusion of what? **_**Harry glanced at Ron, who looked as stumped as he was; Hermione's hand had shot into the air.**

**"I don't know, sir," said Harry.**

**Snape's lips curled into a sneer.**

**"Tut, tut - fame clearly isn't everything." He ignored Hermione's hand.**

**"Let's try again. Potter, where would you look if I told you to find me a bezoar?"**"

"And that's end of first year!" Remus frowned.

"**Hermione stretched her hand as high into the air as it would go without her leaving her seat, but Harry didn't have the faintest idea what a bezoar was. He tried not to look at Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle, who were shaking with laughter.**

**"I don't know, sir." **

**"Thought you wouldn't open a book before coming, eh, Potter." **

**Harry forced himself to keep looking straight into those cold eyes. He had looked through his books at the Dursleys', but did Snape expect him to remember everything in One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi.**

**Snape was still ignoring Hermione's quivering hand.**

**"What is the difference, Potter, between monkshood and wolfsbane?"**"

"Trick question," Remus said.

"**At this, Hermione stood up, her hand stretching toward the dungeon ceiling. "I don't know," said Harry quietly. "I think Hermione does, though, why don't you try her."**

**A few people laughed; Harry caught Seamus's eye, and Seamus winked.**

**Snape, however, was not pleased.**

**"Sit down," he snapped at Hermione. "For your information, Potter, asphodel and wormwood make a sleeping potion so powerful it is known as the Draught of Living Death. A bezoar is a stone taken from the stomach of a goat and it will save you from most poisons. As for monkshood and wolfsbane, they are the same plant, which also goes by the name of aconite. Well. Why aren't you all copying that down?"**"

"Because you didn't tell us to," snarled Harry.

"**There was a sudden rummaging for quills and parchment. Over the noise, Snape said, "And a point will be taken from Gryffindor House for your cheek, Potter."**

**Things didn't improve for the Gryffindors as the Potions lesson continued. Snape put them all into pairs and set them to mixing up a simple potion to cure boils. He swept around in his long black cloak, watching them weigh dried nettles and crush snake fangs, criticizing almost everyone except Malfoy, whom he seemed to like. He was just telling everyone to look at the perfect way Malfoy had stewed his horned slugs when clouds of acid green smoke and a loud hissing filled the dungeon. Neville had somehow managed to melt Seamus's cauldron into a twisted blob,**"

"Definitely Alice's son," said James.

"**and their potion was seeping across the stone floor, burning holes in people's shoes. Within seconds, the whole class was standing on their stools while Neville, who had been drenched in the potion when the cauldron collapsed, moaned in pain as angry red boils sprang up all over his arms and legs.**

**"Idiot boy!"**"

"That was uncalled for!" said Lily.

"**snarled Snape, clearing the spilled potion away with one wave of his wand. "I suppose you added the porcupine quills before taking the cauldron off the fire." Neville whimpered as boils started to pop up all over his nose.**

**"Take him up to the hospital wing," Snape spat at Seamus. Then he rounded on Harry and Ron, who had been working next to Neville.**

**"You - Potter - why didn't you tell him not to add the quills.**"

"Because he'd been focusing on his own potion!" Lily burst out.

"**Thought he'd make you look good if he got it wrong, did you. That's another point you've lost for Gryffindor." This was so unfair that Harry opened his mouth to argue, but Ron kicked him behind their cauldron.**

**"Don't push it," he muttered, "I've heard Snape can turn very nasty." As they climbed the steps out of the dungeon an hour later, Harry's mind was racing and his spirits were low. He'd lost two points for Gryffindor in his very first week - why did Snape hate him so much. **

**"Cheer up," said Ron, "Snape's always taking points off Fred and George. Can I come and meet Hagrid with you." **

**At five to three they left the castle and made their way across the grounds. Hagrid lived in a small wooden house on the edge of the forbidden forest. A crossbow and a pair of galoshes were outside the front door.**

**When Harry knocked they heard a frantic scrabbling from inside and several booming barks. Then Hagrid's voice rang out, saying, "Back, Fang - back." Hagrid's big, hairy face appeared in the crack as he pulled the door open.**

**"Hang on," he said. "Back, Fang." He let them in, struggling to keep a hold on the collar of an enormous black boar hound.**

**There was only one room inside. Hams and pheasants were hanging from the ceiling, a copper kettle was boiling on the open fire, and in the corner stood a massive bed with a patchwork quilt over it.**

**"Make yerselves at home," said Hagrid, letting go of Fang, who bounded straight at Ron and started licking his ears. Like Hagrid, Fang was clearly not as fierce as he looked.**"

"Nah," said Harry as he thought of Fluffy, "It's the ones with cute names you look out for."

"**"This is Ron," Harry told Hagrid, who was pouring boiling water into a large teapot and putting rock cakes onto a plate.**

**"Another Weasley, eh." said Hagrid, glancing at Ron's freckles. "I spent half me life chasin' yer twin brothers away from the forest." **

**The rock cakes were shapeless lumps with raisins that almost broke their teeth,**"

"Yeah, Hagrid's cooking," said Sirius. He seemed to have recovered a bit from the news, but his voice trembled a bit.

"**but Harry and Ron pretended to be enjoying them as they told Hagrid all about their first -lessons. Fang rested his head on Harry's knee and drooled all over his robes.**

**Harry and Ron were delighted to hear Hagrid call Fitch "that old git." **

**"An' as fer that cat, Mrs. Norris, I'd like ter introduce her to Fang sometime. D'yeh know, every time I go up ter the school, she follows me everywhere. Can't get rid of her - Fitch puts her up to it." **

**Harry told Hagrid about Snape's lesson. Hagrid, like Ron, told Harry not to worry about it, that Snape liked hardly any of the students.**

**"But he seemed to really hate me." **

**"Rubbish!" said Hagrid. "Why should he?"**"

"Again, our fault," said Remus.

"**Yet Harry couldn't help thinking that Hagrid didn't quite meet his eyes when he said that.**

**"How's yer brother Charlie?" Hagrid asked Ron. "I liked him a lot - great with animals." **

**Harry wondered if Hagrid had changed the subject on purpose. While Ron told Hagrid all about Charlie's work with dragons, Harry picked up a piece of paper that was lying on the table under the tea cosy. **

**It was a cutting from the Daily Prophet: **_**GRINGOTTS BREAK-IN LATEST**_"

"WHAT!?" Everyone stared at the book – everyone except Harry. Breaking into Gringotts was supposed to be impossible.

"_**Investigations continue into the break-in at Gringotts on 31 July, widely believed to be the work of Dark wizards or witches unknown.**_

_**Gringotts goblins today insisted that nothing had been taken. The vault that was searched had in fact been emptied the same day.**_

_**"But we're not telling you what was in there, so keep your noses out if you know what's good for you," said a Gringotts spokesgoblin this afternoon.**_

**Harry remembered Ron telling him on the train that someone had tried to rob Gringotts, but Ron hadn't mentioned the date.**

**"Hagrid!" said Harry, "that Gringotts break-in happened on my birthday! It might've been happening while we were there!" **

**There was no doubt about it, Hagrid definitely didn't meet Harry's eyes this time. He grunted and offered him another rock cake. Harry read the story again. The vault that was searched had in fact been emptied earlier that same day. Hagrid had emptied vault seven hundred and thirteen, if you could call it emptying, taking out that grubby little package. Had that been what the thieves were looking for.**

**As Harry and Ron walked back to the castle for dinner, their pockets weighed down with rock cakes they'd been too polite to refuse, Harry thought that none of the lessons he'd had so far had given him as much to think about as tea with Hagrid. Had Hagrid collected that package just in time. Where was it now? And did Hagrid know something about Snape that he didn't want to tell Harry?**"

"End of chapter," said James. He handed the book to Harry.


	12. JUST A LITTLE TALE OF SEVERUS SNAPE

**JUST A LITTLE TALE OF SEVERUS SNAPE**

_**WARING: EXTREME SNAPE-BASHING IN CONTENT**_

_A/N: Okay, I know I'm a bit late with the next chapter of my story, so here's a little something that I whipped up for ya. Note that this was just for laughs and I DON'T really hate Snape, he's just annoying. _

* * *

Once upon a time, there lived a prince.

….

Okay, to be honest, he wasn't a prince at all. Just a lonely, sad little boy who had severe daddy issues, but for the sake of this little tale, we'll pretend he was a prince. This boy's name was Severus Snape.

When he was young, he met the fair princess Lily (whom was better by him by far), and he fell in love with her as they started at magic school.

….

Oh honestly who didn't see that coming?!

Anyways, due to Snape's lack of common sense, Lily fell in love with another. The got married, had a son. And poor little Snape ran over to the dark side because nobody loved him.

But, I won't bore you with the details.

Girl get killed, he's all sad, he switched roles and became a spy, dies because he made the wrong choices…

C'MON, PEOPLE!

This is like, the most cliché story you get. The only to learn here is: "Greasy-haired traitors who murder old men [for any reason] and run away, will always get caught and murdered in the most painful way wizardly possible."

Oh, and YES the only thing harmed in the making of this is Snape's pride!

(Snape appears behind me, I start feeling very nervous)

Ooops, busted!

Gotta go now guys bye!


	13. The Midnight Duel

**BOOKS FROM THE FUTURE: THE PHILSOPHER'S STONE**

_Chapter 11: The Midnight Duel _

* * *

**A/N: Hi, this little number was completed at 07:39 P.M on 12 August 2013. I do hope it was worth the wait!**

Harry cleared his throat and read, "**Chapter 9: The Midnight Duel.**"

Lily gasped, "Please, tell me you didn't do what I think you did."

"You'll see," Harry said.

"**Harry had never believed he would meet a boy he hated more than Dudley, but that was before he met Draco Malfoy. Still, first-year Gryffindors only had Potions with the Slytherins, so they didn't have to put up with Malfoy much. Or at least, they didn't until they spotted a notice pinned up in the Gryffindor common room that made them all groan.**

**Flying lessons would be starting on Thursday - and Gryffindor and Slytherin would be learning together.**"

"Why do they always put the two houses that have a mutual loathing for one another together for the most dangerous lessons?" asked Sirius.

"I think they're trying to make them get along," said James, "And it never works."

"**"Typical," said Harry darkly. "Just what I always wanted. To make a fool of myself on a broomstick in front of Malfoy." He had been looking forward to learning to fly more than anything else.**

**"You don't know that you'll make a fool of yourself," said Ron reasonably.**

**"Anyway, I know Malfoy's always going on about how good he is at Quidditch, but I bet that's all talk." Malfoy certainly did talk about flying a lot. He complained loudly about first years never getting on the house Quidditch teams and told long, boastful stories that always seemed to end with him narrowly escaping Muggles in helicopters.**"

"I doubt he even knows what a helicopter is," said Harry.

"**He wasn't the only one, though: the way Seamus Finnigan told it, he'd spent most of his childhood zooming around the countryside on his broomstick. Even Ron would tell anyone who'd listen about the time he'd almost hit a hang glider on Charlie's old broom.**

**Everyone from wizarding families talked about Quidditch constantly. Ron had already had a big argument with Dean Thomas, who shared their dormitory, about soccer. Ron couldn't see what was exciting about a game with only one ball where no one was allowed to fly. Harry had caught Ron prodding Dean's poster of West Ham soccer team, trying to make the players move.**"

Everyone chuckled at that.

"**Neville had never been on a broomstick in his life, because his grandmother had never let him near one. Privately, Harry felt she'd had good reason, because Neville managed to have an extraordinary number of accidents even with both feet on the ground.**

**Hermione Granger was almost as nervous about flying as Neville was. This was something you couldn't learn by heart out of a book - not that she hadn't tried. At breakfast on Thursday she bored them all stupid with flying tips she'd gotten out of a library book called Quidditch Through the Ages.**"

"That's a good book," cried the Quidditch Nuts (A.K.A: Harry, James and Sirius).

"**Neville was hanging on to her every word, desperate for anything that might help him hang on to his broomstick later, but everybody else was very pleased when Hermione's lecture was interrupted by the arrival of the mail.**

**Harry hadn't had a single letter since Hagrid's note, something that Malfoy had been quick to notice, of course. Malfoy's eagle owl was always bringing him packages of sweets from home, which he opened gloatingly at the Slytherin table.**

**A barn owl brought Neville a small package from his grandmother. He opened it excitedly and showed them a glass ball the size of a large marble, which seemed to be full of white smoke.**

**"It's a Remembrall!"**"

"Those are useful things, really," said Remus.

"**he explained. "Gran knows I forget things - this tells you if there's something you've forgotten to do.**"

"But not exactly what you've forgotten," said Lily.

"**Look, you hold it tight like this and if it turns red - oh..." His face fell, because the Remembrall had suddenly glowed scarlet, You've forgotten something..." Neville was trying to remember what he'd forgotten when Draco Malfoy, who was passing the Gryffindor table, snatched the Remembrall out of his hand.**

**Harry and Ron jumped to their feet. They were half hoping for a reason to fight Malfoy, but Professor McGonagall, who could spot trouble quicker than any teacher in the school, was there in a flash.**"

"That comes from the years of teaching us," said James.

"**"What's going on?" **

**"Malfoy's got my Remembrall, Professor." Scowling, Malfoy quickly dropped the Remembrall back on the table.**

**"Just looking," he said, and he sloped away with Crabbe and Goyle behind him.**

**At three-thirty that afternoon, Harry, Ron, and the other Gryffindors hurried down the front steps onto the grounds for their first flying lesson. It was a clear, breezy day,**"

"Good conditions," said James, then sombre up a little about Harry's "lack of skill" on a broom.

"**and the grass rippled under their feet as they marched down the sloping lawns toward a smooth, flat lawn on the opposite side of the grounds to the forbidden forest, whose trees were swaying darkly in the distance.**

**The Slytherins were already there, and so were twenty broomsticks lying in neat lines on the ground. Harry had heard Fred and George Weasley complain about the school brooms, saying that some of them started to vibrate if you flew too high, or always flew slightly to the left.**"

"I hate that," said Sirius. He looked to be completely over the shock of the news of his death.

"**Their teacher, Madam Hooch, arrived. She had short, grey hair, and yellow eyes like a hawk.**

**"Well, what are you all waiting for." she barked. "Everyone stand by a broomstick. Come on, hurry up." Harry glanced down at his broom. It was old and some of the twigs stuck out at odd angles.**

**"Stick out your right hand over your broom," called Madam Hooch at the front, "and say 'Up!" **

**"UP!" everyone shouted.**

**Harry's broom jumped into his hand at once.**"

"Wait a second…that means…"

James jumped to his feet with a cheer, and everyone laughed.

"Good one, Prongslet," said Sirius, "Seems like you're a natural on a broomstick."

Harry nodded, "I also got another surprise for you, you'll find out later in the chapter."

"**but it was one of the few that did. Hermione Granger's had simply rolled over on the ground, and Neville's hadn't moved at all. Perhaps brooms, like horses, could tell when you were afraid,**"

"That's an interesting theory," said James, still beaming.

"**thought Harry; there was a quaver in Neville's voice that said only too clearly that he wanted to keep his feet on the ground.**

**Madam Hooch then showed them how to mount their brooms without sliding off the end, and walked up and down the rows correcting their grips.**

**Harry and Ron were delighted when she told Malfoy he'd been doing it wrong for years.**

**Now, when I blow my whistle, you kick off from the ground, hard," said Madam Hooch. "Keep your brooms steady, rise a few feet, and then come straight back down by leaning forward slightly. On my whistle - three - two -" But Neville, nervous and jumpy and frightened of being left on the ground, pushed off hard before the whistle had touched Madam Hooch's lips.**

**"Come back, boy!" she shouted, but Neville was rising straight up like a cork shot out of a bottle - twelve feet - twenty feet. Harry saw his scared white face look down at the ground falling away, saw him gasp, slip sideways off the broom and - WHAM - a thud and a nasty crack and Neville lay face down on the grass in a heap.**"

"Ouch!" Everyone in the room winced.

"**His broomstick was still rising higher and higher, and started to drift lazily toward the forbidden forest and out of sight.**

**Madam Hooch was bending over Neville, her face as white as his.**

**"Broken wrist," Harry heard her mutter. "Come on, boy - it's all right, up you get."**

**She turned to the rest of the class.**

**"None of you is to move while I take this boy to the hospital wing! You leave those brooms where they are or you'll be out of Hogwarts before you can say 'Quidditch.' Come on, dear." Neville, his face tear-streaked, clutching his wrist, hobbled off with Madam Hooch, who had her arm around him.**

**No sooner were they out of earshot than Malfoy burst into laughter.**

**"Did you see his face, the great lump."**"

"That's so typical of a Slytherin," said Sirius with a huff.

"**The other Slytherins joined in.**

**"Shut up, Malfoy," snapped Parvati Patil.**"

"Now, there's a girl who makes sense!" James said, then cowered under Lily's glare as Harry chuckled at his parents interacting.

"**"Ooh, sticking up for Longbottom." said Pansy Parkinson, a hard-faced Slytherin girl. "Never thought you'd like fat little crybabies, Parvati." **

**"Look!" said Malfoy, darting forward and snatching something out of the grass. "It's that stupid thing Longbottom's gran sent him." **

**The Remembrall glittered in the sun as he held it up.**

**"Give that here, Malfoy," said Harry quietly. Everyone stopped talking to watch.**

**Malfoy smiled nastily.**

**"I think I'll leave it somewhere for Longbottom to find - how about - up a tree."**"

"That's taking things too far!" Lily said.

"**"Give it here!" Harry yelled, but Malfoy had leapt onto his broomstick and taken off. He hadn't been lying, he could fly well. Hovering level with the topmost branches of an oak he called, "Come and get it, Potter!" Harry grabbed his broom.**"

"HARRY JAMES POTTER!" Lily exclaimed, "What were you thinking?! Madame Hooch told you to stay on the ground! Do you want to get expelled?"

"**"No!" shouted Hermione Granger. "Madam Hooch told us not to move - you'll get us all into trouble."**"

"You better listen to her," said Lily.

"**Harry ignored her.**"

Harry grinned sheepishly, "Sorry, mum."

"**Blood was pounding in his ears. He mounted the broom and kicked hard against the ground and up, up he soared; air rushed through his hair, and his robes whipped out behind him -and in a rush of fierce joy he realized he'd found something he could do without being taught - this was easy, this was wonderful.**

**He pulled his broomstick up a little to take it even higher, and heard screams and gasps of girls back on the ground and an admiring whoop from Ron.**

**He turned his broomstick sharply to face Malfoy in midair. Malfoy looked stunned.**

**"Give it here," Harry called, "or I'll knock you off that broom!" **

**"Oh, yeah." said Malfoy, trying to sneer, but looking worried.**

**Harry knew, somehow, what to do. He leaned forward and grasped the broom tightly in both hands, and it shot toward Malfoy like a javelin. Malfoy only just got out of the way in time; Harry made a sharp about-face and held the broom steady. A few people below were clapping.**

**"No Crabbe and Goyle up here to save your neck, Malfoy," Harry called.**

**The same thought seemed to have struck Malfoy.**"

"Oh, no!" cried Sirius in mock tones.

Remus hit him over the head, hissing the words 'bad dog' in tone low enough to go unnoticed.

"**"Catch it if you can, then!" he shouted, and he threw the glass ball high into the air and streaked back toward the ground.**

**Harry saw, as though in slow motion, the ball rise up in the air and then start to fall. He leaned forward and pointed his broom handle down - next second he was gathering speed in a steep dive, racing the ball - wind whistled in his ears, mingled with the screams of people watching - he stretched out his hand - a foot from the ground he caught it, just in time to pull his broom straight, and he toppled gently onto the grass with the Remembrall clutched safely in his fist.**"

"You did that on a school broom?!" James asked astonished.

Lily, however, was not so pleased, "Harry James Potter! You could've broken your neck!"

"**"HARRY POTTER!" His heart sank faster than he'd just dived. Professor McGonagall was running toward them. He got to his feet, trembling.**

**"Never - in all my time at Hogwarts –"**

**Professor McGonagall was almost speechless with shock, and her glasses flashed furiously,**"

"Jeesh, she's mad!" committed Sirius.

"**"- how dare you - might have broken your neck -" **

**"It wasn't his fault, Professor -" **

**"Be quiet, Miss Patil **

**"But Malfoy -" **

**"That's enough, Mr. Weasley. Potter, follow me, now." Harry caught sight of Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle's triumphant faces as he left, walking numbly in Professor McGonagall's wake as she strode toward the castle. He was going to be expelled, he just knew it.**

**He wanted to say something to defend himself, but there seemed to be something wrong with his voice. Professor McGonagall was sweeping along without even looking at him; he had to jog to keep up. Now he'd done it. He hadn't even lasted two weeks. He'd be packing his bags in ten minutes. What would the Dursleys say when he turned up on the doorstep?**

**Up the front steps, up the marble staircase inside, and still Professor McGonagall didn't say a word to him. She wrenched open doors and marched along corridors with Harry trotting miserably behind her. Maybe she was taking him to Dumbledore. He thought of Hagrid, expelled but allowed to stay on as gamekeeper. Perhaps he could be Hagrid's assistant. His stomach twisted as he imagined it, watching Ron and the others becoming wizards, while he stumped around the grounds carrying Hagrid's bag.**"

"Kid, there's something called optimism," said Remus, "Learn how to use it."

"**Professor McGonagall stopped outside a classroom. She opened the door and poked her head inside.**

**"Excuse me, Professor Flitwick, could I borrow Wood for a moment?" Wood, thought Harry, bewildered; was Wood a cane she was going to use on him.**

**But Wood turned out to be a person, a burly fifth-year boy who came out of Flitwicks class looking confused.**

**"Follow me, you two," said Professor McGonagall, and they marched on up the corridor, Wood looking curiously at Harry.**

**"In here." Professor McGonagall pointed them into a classroom that was empty except for Peeves, who was busy writing rude words on the blackboard.**"

Lily glared at James and Sirius.

"What?" Sirius protested, "Moony taught him those!"

"Guilty as charged," confirmed Remus.

"**"Out, Peeves!" she barked. Peeves threw the chalk into a bin, which clanged loudly, and he swooped out cursing. Professor McGonagall slammed the door behind him and turned to face the two boys.**

**"Potter, this is Oliver Wood. Wood - I've found you a Seeker."**"

"WHAT?!" James and Sirius' eyes widened with glee. "That's amazing!"

"**Wood's expression changed from puzzlement to delight.**

**"Are you serious, Professor?"**"

"No she's not, I am," said Sirius, and everyone groaned at the bad pun.

"**"Absolutely," said Professor McGonagall crisply. "The boy's a natural. I've never seen anything like it. Was that your first time on a broomstick, Potter." Harry nodded silently. He didn't have a clue what was going on, but he didn't seem to be being expelled, and some of the feeling started coming back to his legs.**

**"He caught that thing in his hand after a fifty-foot dive," Professor McGonagall told Wood. "Didn't even scratch himself. Charlie Weasley couldn't have done it." **

**Wood was now looking as though all his dreams had come true at once.**

**"Ever seen a game of Quidditch, Potter." he asked excitedly.**

**"Wood's captain of the Gryffindor team," Professor McGonagall explained.**

**"He's just the build for a Seeker, too," said Wood, now walking around Harry and staring at him. "Light - speedy - we'll have to get him a decent broom, Professor - a Nimbus Two Thousand or a Cleansweep Seven, I'd say." **

"**I shall speak to Professor Dumbledore and see if we can't bend the first-year rule. Heaven knows, we need a better team than last year. Flattened in that last match by Slytherin, I couldn't look Severus Snape in the face for weeks..."**"

"Oh, that git must've been unbearable," Sirius groaned.

"**Professor McGonagall peered sternly over her glasses at Harry.**

**"I want to hear you're training hard, Potter, or I may change my mind about punishing you." Then she suddenly smiled.**

**"Your father would have been proud,"**"

"I _am _proud," said James.

"**she said. "He was an excellent Quidditch player himself." **

**"You're joking."**"

"No she's not," James said.

"Um, dad, new scenery here," said Harry.

"**It was dinnertime. Harry had just finished telling Ron what had happened when he'd left the grounds with Professor McGonagall. Ron had a piece of steak and kidney pie halfway to his mouth, but he'd forgotten all about it.**

**"Seeker." he said. "But first years never - you must be the youngest house player in about a" **

"**Century," said Harry, shovelling pie into his mouth. He felt particularly hungry after the excitement of the afternoon. "Wood told me." Ron was so amazed, so impressed, he just sat and gaped at Harry.**

**"I start training next week," said Harry. "Only don't tell anyone, Wood wants to keep it a secret."**"

"A secret never lasts in Hogwarts," said Remus.

"**Fred and George Weasley now came into the hall, spotted Harry, and hurried over.**

**"Well done," said George in a low voice. "Wood told us. We're on the team too - Beaters."**"

"Best position," cheered Sirius.

"**"I tell you, we're going to win that Quidditch cup for sure this year," said Fred. "We haven't won since Charlie left, but this year's team is going to be brilliant. You must be good, Harry, Wood was almost skipping when he told us."**

**"Anyway, we've got to go, Lee Jordan reckons he's found a new secret passageway out of the school." **

**"Bet it's that one behind the statue of Gregory the Smarmy that we found in our first week. See you."**

**Fred and George had hardly disappeared when someone far less welcome turned up: Malfoy, flanked by Crabbe and Goyle.**

**"Having a last meal, Potter. When are you getting the train back to the Muggles?"**"

"He's not," Lily glared at the book.

"**"You're a lot braver now that you're back on the ground and you've got your little friends with you,"****said Harry coolly. There was of course nothing at all little about Crabbe and Goyle, but as the High Table was full of teachers, neither of them could do more than crack their knuckles and scowl.**

**"I'd take you on anytime on my own," said Malfoy. "Tonight, if you want. Wizard's duel. Wands only - no contact. What's the matter? Never heard of a wizard's duel before, I suppose." **

**"Of course he has," said Ron, wheeling around. "I'm his second, who's yours."**"

"Harry, tell me you didn't," Lily almost begged.

"Sorry, mum, but then I'd be lying," Harry said.

"**Malfoy looked at Crabbe and Goyle, sizing them up.**

**"Crabbe," he said. "Midnight all right. We'll meet you in the trophy room; that's always unlocked." **

**When Malfoy had gone, Ron and Harry looked at each other. **

**"What is a wizard's duel?" said Harry. "And what do you mean, you're my second?" **

**"Well, a seconds there to take over if you die," **

**said Ron casually, getting started at last on his cold pie. Catching the look on Harry's face, he added quickly, "But people only die in proper duels, you know, with real wizards. The most you and Malfoy'll be able to do is send sparks at each other. Neither of you knows enough magic to do any real damage. I bet he expected you to refuse, anyway." **

**"And what if I wave my wand and nothing happens?" **

**"Throw it away and punch him on the nose,"**"

"Do that anyway," said Sirius only to receive nasty glares from Lily and Remus.

"**Ron suggested. "Excuse me." They both looked up. It was Hermione Granger.**

**"Can't a person eat in peace in this place?" said Ron.**

**Hermione ignored him and spoke to Harry.**

**"I couldn't help overhearing what you and Malfoy were saying –"**

**"Bet you could," Ron muttered.**

**"-and you mustn't go wandering around the school at night, think of the points you'll lose Gryffindor if you're caught, and you're bound to be. It's really very selfish of you."**"

"How in Merlin's name did the three of you become friends?" Sirius asked, but was left unanswered.

"**"And it's really none of your business," said Harry.**

**"Good-bye," said Ron.**

**All the same, it wasn't what you'd call the perfect end to the day, Harry thought, as he lay awake much later listening to Dean and Seamus falling asleep (Neville wasn't back from the hospital wing). **

**Ron had spent all evening giving him advice such as "If he tries to curse you, you'd better dodge it, because I can't remember how to block them."**

**There was a very good chance they were going to get caught by Filch or Mrs. Norris, and Harry felt he was pushing his luck, breaking another school rule today. On the other hand, Malfoy's sneering face kept looming up out of the darkness - this was his big chance to beat Malfoy face-to-face. He couldn't miss it.**"

"Of course you can't," said Lily.

**"Half-past eleven," Ron muttered at last, "we'd better go." They pulled on their bathrobes, picked up their wands, and crept across the tower room, down the spiral staircase, and into the Gryffindor common room. A few embers were still glowing in the fireplace, turning all the armchairs into hunched black shadows. They had almost reached the portrait hole when a voice spoke from the chair nearest them, "I can't believe you're going to do this, Harry." A lamp flickered on. It was Hermione Granger, wearing a pink bathrobe and a frown.**"

"How interfering can you get?" Sirius got the receiving end of Lily's infamous Bat-Bogey Hex for this statement.

"**"You!" said Ron furiously. "Go back to bed!" **

**"I almost told your brother," Hermione snapped, "Percy - he's a prefect, he'd put a stop to this." **

**Harry couldn't believe anyone could be so interfering.**"

"You and I both," said James before cowering away from the menace known only as Lily Evans.

"**"Come on," he said to Ron. He pushed open the portrait of the Fat Lady and climbed through the hole.**

**Hermione wasn't going to give up that easily. She followed Ron through the portrait hole, hissing at them like an angry goose.**

**"Don't you care about Gryffindor, do you only care about yourselves, I don't want Slytherin to win the house cup, and you'll lose all the points I got from Professor McGonagall for knowing about Switching Spells." **

**"Go away." **

**"All right, but I warned you, you just remember what I said when you're on the train home tomorrow, you're so -" But what they were, they didn't find out. Hermione had turned to the portrait of the Fat Lady to get back inside and found herself facing an empty painting. The Fat Lady had gone on a night time visit and Hermione was locked out of Gryffindor tower.**

**"Now what am I going to do?" she asked shrilly.**

**"That's your problem," said Ron. "We've got to go, we're going to be late." They hadn't even reached the end of the corridor when Hermione caught up with them.**

**"I'm coming with you," she said.**

**"You are not." **

**"Do you think I'm going to stand out here and wait for Filch to catch me? If he finds all three of us I'll tell him the truth, that I was trying to stop you, and you can back me up." **

**"You've got some nerve -" said Ron loudly.**

**"Shut up, both of you!" said Harry sharply. "I heard something." It was a sort of snuffling.**

**"Mrs. Norris." breathed Ron, squinting through the dark.**

**It wasn't Mrs. Norris. It was Neville. He was curled up on the floor, fast asleep, but jerked suddenly awake as they crept nearer.**

**"Thank goodness you found me! I've been out here for hours, I couldn't remember the new password to get in to bed."**"

"Typical Neville," Harry chuckled fondly.

"**"Keep your voice down, Neville. The password's 'Pig snout' but it won't help you now, the Fat Lady's gone off somewhere." **

**"How's your arm?" said Harry.**

**"Fine," said Neville, showing them. "Madam Pomfrey mended it in about a minute." **

**"Good - well, look, Neville, we've got to be somewhere, we'll see you later –"**

**"Don't leave me!" said Neville, scrambling to his feet, "I don't want to stay here alone, the Bloody Baron's been past twice already." Ron looked at his watch and then glared furiously at Hermione and Neville.**

**"If either of you get us caught, I'll never rest until I've learned that Curse of the Bogies Quirrell told us about, and used it on you."**

**Hermione opened her mouth, perhaps to tell Ron exactly how to use the Curse of the Bogies,****but Harry hissed at her to be quiet and beckoned them all forward.**

**They flitted along corridors striped with bars of moonlight from the high windows. At every turn Harry expected to run into Filch or Mrs. Norris, but they were lucky. They sped up a staircase to the third floor and tiptoed toward the trophy room.**

**Malfoy and Crabbe weren't there yet. The crystal trophy cases glimmered where the moonlight caught them. Cups, shields, plates, and statues winked silver and gold in the darkness. They edged along the walls, keeping their eyes on the doors at either end of the room. Harry took out his wand in case Malfoy leapt in and started at once. The minutes crept by.**

**"He's late, maybe he's chickened out," Ron whispered.**

**Then a noise in the next room made them jump. Harry had only just raised his wand when they heard someone speak -and it wasn't Malfoy.**

**"Sniff around, my sweet, they might be lurking in a corner." It was Filch speaking to Mrs. Norris.**"

'Aw, man!" Sirius fretted, "Now's a good time to get outta there!"

"**Horror-struck, Harry waved madly at the other three to follow him as quickly as possible; they scurried silently toward the door, away from Filch's voice. Neville's robes had barely whipped round the corner when they heard Filch enter the trophy room.**

**"They're in here somewhere," they heard him mutter, "probably hiding." **

**"This way!" Harry mouthed to the others and, petrified, they began to creep down a long gallery full of suits of armour. They could hear Filch getting nearer. Neville suddenly let out a frightened squeak and broke into a run -he tripped, grabbed Ron around the waist, and the pair of them toppled right into a suit of armour.**

**The clanging and crashing were enough to wake the whole castle.**

**"RUN!" Harry yelled, and the four of them sprinted down the gallery, not looking back to see whether Filch was following - they swung around the doorpost and galloped down one corridor then another, Harry in the lead, without any idea where they were or where they were going - they ripped through a tapestry and found themselves in a hidden passageway, hurtled along it and came out near their Charms classroom, which they knew was miles from the trophy room.**

**"I think we've lost him," Harry panted, leaning against the cold wall and wiping his forehead. Neville was bent double, wheezing and spluttering.**

"**I - told -you," Hermione gasped, clutching at the stitch in her chest, "I - told - you."**"

"Now's not the time for an 'I-told-you-so'," said Remus.

"**"We've got to get back to Gryffindor tower," said Ron, "quickly as possible."**

**"Malfoy tricked you," Hermione said to Harry. "You realize that, don't you. He was never going to meet you - Filch knew someone was going to be in the trophy room, Malfoy must have tipped him off." Harry thought she was probably right, but he wasn't going to tell her that.**

**"Let's go." It wasn't going to be that simple. They hadn't gone more than a dozen paces when a doorknob rattled and something came shooting out of a classroom in front of them.**

**It was Peeves. He caught sight of them and gave a squeal of delight.**

**"Shut up, Peeves - please - you'll get us thrown out." Peeves cackled.**

**"Wandering around at midnight, Ickle Firsties. Tut, tut, tut. Naughty, naughty, you'll get caughty." **

**"Not if you don't give us away, Peeves, please." **

**Should tell Filch, I should," said Peeves in a saintly voice, but his eyes glittered wickedly. "It's for your own good, you know." **

**"Get out of the way," snapped Ron, taking a swipe at Peeves this was a big mistake.**

**"STUDENTS OUT OF BED!" Peeves bellowed, "STUDENTS OUT OF BED DOWN THE CHARMS CORRIDOR" Ducking under Peeves, they ran for their lives, right to the end of the corridor where they slammed into a door - and it was locked.**

**"This is it!" Ron moaned, as they pushed helplessly at the door, "We're done for! This is the end!" **

**They could hear footsteps, Filch running as fast as he could toward Peeves's shouts.**

**"Oh, move over," Hermione snarled. She grabbed Harry's wand, tapped the lock, and whispered, "Alohomora!" The lock clicked and the door swung open - they piled through it, shut it quickly, and pressed their ears against it, listening.**

**"Which way did they go, Peeves?" Filch was saying. "Quick, tell me." **

**"Say 'please."**

**"Don't mess with me, Peeves, now where did they go." **

**"Shan't say nothing if you don't say please," said Peeves in his annoying singsong voice.**"

'Ah, he's not going to give them away," said Sirius.

"Yes," Jae laughed, "I believe you taught him this one Padfoot."

"**"All right -please." **

**"NOTHING! Ha haaa! Told you I wouldn't say nothing if you didn't say please! Ha ha! Haaaaaa!" **

**And they heard the sound of Peeves whooshing away and Filch cursing in rage.**

**"He thinks this door is locked," Harry whispered. "I think we'll be okay - get off, Neville!" For Neville had been tugging on the sleeve of Harry's bathrobe for the last minute. "What?" Harry turned around - and saw, quite clearly, what. For a moment, he was sure he'd walked into a nightmare - this was too much, on top of everything that had happened so far.**

"What is it?" Lily asked, hold Harry's arm to make sure he was real.

"**They weren't in a room, as he had supposed. They were in a corridor. The forbidden corridor on the third floor. And now they knew why it was forbidden.**

**They were looking straight into the eyes of a monstrous dog, a dog that filled the whole space between ceiling and floor. It had three heads.**"

'What in Merlin's name is a Cerberus doing in the school?" Remus asked dumbfounded.

"**Three pairs of rolling, mad eyes; three noses, twitching and quivering in their direction; three drooling mouths, saliva hanging in slippery ropes from yellowish fangs.**

**It was standing quite still, all six eyes staring at them, and Harry knew that the only reason they weren't already dead was that their sudden appearance had taken it by surprise, but it was quickly getting over that, there was no mistaking what those thunderous growls meant.**

**Harry groped for the doorknob - between Filch and death, he'd take Filch.**"

"Me too," said James.

"**They fell backward - Harry slammed the door shut, and they ran, they almost flew, back down the corridor. Filch must have hurried off to look for them somewhere else, because they didn't see him anywhere, but they hardly cared - all they wanted to do was put as much space as possible between them and that monster. They didn't stop running until they reached the portrait of the Fat Lady on the seventh floor.**

**"Where on earth have you all been?"**"

"She'll never get an answer on that," pointed out Remus.

"**she asked, looking at their bathrobes hanging off their shoulders and their flushed, sweaty faces.**

**"Never mind that - pig snout, pig snout," panted Harry, and the portrait swung forward. They scrambled into the common room and collapsed, trembling, into armchairs.**

**It was a while before any of them said anything. Neville, indeed, looked as if he'd never speak again.**

**"What do they think they're doing, keeping a thing like that locked up in a school." said Ron finally. "If any dog needs exercise, that one does." Hermione had got both her breath and her bad temper back again. **

**"You don't use your eyes, any of you, do you." she snapped. "Didn't you see what it was standing on."**

**"The floor." Harry suggested. "I wasn't looking at its feet, I was too busy with its heads."**

**"No, not the floor. It was standing on a trapdoor. It's obviously guarding something." She stood up, glaring at them. "I hope you're pleased with yourselves. We could all have been killed - or worse, expelled.**"

"This girl had issues," said James.

"**Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to bed." Ron stared after her, his mouth open.**

**"No, we don't mind," he said. "You'd think we dragged her along, wouldn't you?"**

**But Hermione had given Harry something else to think about as he climbed back into bed. The dog was guarding something... What had Hagrid said?**

**Gringotts was the safest place in the world for something you wanted to hide - except perhaps Hogwarts.**

**It looked as though Harry had found out where the grubby little package from vault seven hundred and thirteen was.**"


	14. Halloween

**BOOKS FROM THE FUTURE: THE PHILSOPHER'S STONE**

_Chapter 11: Halloween _

* * *

**A/N: Here's yet another chapter, completed as of 7:02 pm on Sunday, 18 August 2013. And as for the next update, I promise an new set of characters joining our group of readers :) . **

Lily took the book and read the chapter title, "**Chapter 10: Halloween**."

Harry felt a bit sheepish, knowing what kind of trouble he got in.

"**Malfoy couldn't believe his eyes**"

"I bet he really couldn't," said James.

"**when he saw that Harry and Ron were still at Hogwarts the next day, looking tired but perfectly cheerful.**

**Indeed, by the next morning Harry and Ron thought that meeting the three-headed dog had been an excellent adventure, and they were quite keen to have another one.**"

Lily and Remus groaned.

"**In the meantime, Harry filled Ron in about the package that seemed to have been moved from Gringotts to Hogwarts, and they spent a lot of time wondering what could possibly need such heavy protection. **

**"It's either really valuable or really dangerous," said Ron.**"

"Or both," said Sirius.

"**"Or both," said Harry.**"

Sirius blinked, and then chuckled.

"**But all they knew for sure about the mysterious object was that it was about two inches long, they didn't have much chance of guessing what it was without further clues.**"

"I wonder what it could be," said Lily.

"**Neither Neville nor Hermione showed the slightest interest in what lay underneath the dog and the trapdoor. All Neville cared about was never going near the dog again.**

**Hermione was now refusing to speak to Harry and Ron, but she was such a bossy know-it-all that they saw this as an added bonus.**

**All they really wanted now was a way of getting back at Malfoy,**"

"Harry, you shouldn't," Lily groaned.

"**and to their great delight, just such a thing arrived in the mail about a week later.**

**As the owls flooded into the Great Hall as usual, everyone's attention was caught at once by a long, thin package carried by six large screech owls. Harry was just as interested as everyone else to see what was in this large parcel, and was amazed when the owls soared down and dropped it right in front of him, knocking his bacon to the floor. They had hardly fluttered out of the way when another owl dropped a letter on top of the parcel.**

**Harry ripped open the letter first, which was lucky, because it said: **

_**DO NOT OPEN THE PARCEL AT THE TABLE.**_

_**It contains your new Nimbus Two Thousand,**__" _

"Yes!" James and Sirius cheered, as Harry thought fondly of his old broom.

"_**but I don't want everybody knowing you've got a broomstick or they'll all want one. Oliver Wood will meet you tonight on the Quidditch field at seven o'clock for your first training session.**_

_**Professor McGonagall **_

**Harry had difficulty hiding his glee as he handed the note to Ron to read.**

**"A Nimbus Two Thousand!" Ron moaned enviously. "I've never even touched one."**"

"He has now," Harry beamed.

"That's really generous of you, Harry," said Lily.

"**They left the hall quickly, wanting to unwrap the broomstick in private before their first class, but halfway across the entrance hall they found the way upstairs barred by Crabbe and Goyle. Malfoy seized the package from Harry and felt it.**

**"That's a broomstick," he said, throwing it back to Harry with a mixture of jealousy and spite on his face. "You'll be in for it this time, Potter, first years aren't allowed them."**

**"It's not any old broomstick," he said, "it's a Nimbus Two Thousand. What did you say you've got at home, Malfoy, a Comet Two Sixty." Ron grinned at Harry. "Comets look flashy, but they're not in the same league as the Nimbus."**"

"Not they're not," said Harry – he was really found of that broom, despite losing it in third year.

"**"What would you know about it, Weasley, you couldn't afford half the handle,"****Malfoy snapped back. "I suppose you and your brothers have to save up twig by twig."**"

"You know, the Weasleys may not have the best brooms," Harry said defending those that he came to see as his family, "But they got on the teams with pure talent."

"Hear, hear," Sirius and James cheered as Lily and Remus rolled their eyes in amusement.

"**Before Ron could answer, Professor Flitwick appeared at Malfoy's elbow.**

**"Not arguing, I hope, boys." he squeaked.**

**"Potter's been sent a broomstick, Professor," said Malfoy quickly.**

**"Yes, yes, that's right," said Professor Flitwick, beaming at Harry. "Professor McGonagall told me all about the special circumstances, Potter. And what model is it." **

**"A Nimbus Two Thousand, sir," said Harry, fighting not to laugh at the look of horror on Malfoy's face. "And it's really thanks to Malfoy here that I've got it," he added.**

**Harry and Ron headed upstairs, smothering their laughter at Malfoy's obvious rage and confusion. "Well, it's true," Harry chortled as they reached the top of the marble staircase, "If he hadn't stolen Neville's Remembrall I wouldn't be on the team..." **

**"So I suppose you think that's a reward for breaking rules." came an angry voice from just behind them. Hermione was stomping up the stairs, looking disapprovingly at the package in Harry's hand.**"

"You know, Mione's really scary when she's mad like that," Harry shuddered.

"**"I thought you weren't speaking to us." said Harry.**

**"Yes, don't stop now," said Ron, "it's doing us so much good."**"

"HARRY!" Lily shook her head in disbelief.

"Don't worry mum, she forgive us…I think," Harry said.

"**Hermione marched away with her nose in the air.**

**Harry had a lot of trouble keeping his mind on his lessons that day. **

**It kept wandering up to the dormitory where his new broomstick was lying under his bed, or straying off to the Quidditch field where he'd be learning to play that night.**

**He bolted his dinner that evening without noticing what he was eating, and then rushed upstairs with Ron to unwrap the Nimbus Two Thousand at last.**

**"Wow," Ron sighed, as the broomstick rolled onto Harry's bedspread.**

**Even Harry, who knew nothing about the different brooms, thought it looked wonderful. Sleek and shiny, with a mahogany handle, it had a long tail of neat, straight twigs and Nimbus Two Thousand written in gold near the top.**"

James was practically drooling at this description.

"**As seven o'clock drew nearer, Harry left the castle and set off in the dusk toward the Quidditch field. Held never been inside the stadium before. Hundreds of seats were raised in stands around the field so that the spectators were high enough to see what was going on. At either end of the field were three golden poles with hoops on the end. They reminded Harry of the little plastic sticks Muggle children blew bubbles through, except that they were fifty feet high.**

**Too eager to fly again to wait for Wood, Harry mounted his broomstick and kicked off from the ground. What a feeling - he swooped in and out of the goal posts and then sped up and down the field. The Nimbus Two Thousand turned wherever he wanted at his lightest touch.**

**"Hey, Potter, come down!' Oliver Wood had arrived. He was carrying a large wooden crate under his arm. Harry landed next to him.**

**"Very nice," said Wood, his eyes glinting. "I see what McGonagall meant... you really are a natural**."

James beamed.

"**I'm just going to teach you the rules this evening, then you'll be joining team practice three times a week."**"

"Three times a week, the good old days," Harry sighed.

"**He opened the crate. Inside were four different-sized balls.**

**"Right," said Wood. "Now, Quidditch is easy enough to understand, even if it's not too easy to play. There are seven players on each side. Three of them are called Chasers." **

**"Three Chasers," Harry repeated, as Wood took out a bright red ball about the size of a soccer ball.**

**"This ball's called the Quaffle," said Wood. "The Chasers throw the Quaffle to each other and try and get it through one of the hoops to score a goal. Ten points every time the Quaffle goes through one of the hoops. Follow me?" **

**"The Chasers throw the Quaffle and put it through the hoops to score," Harry recited. "So - that's sort of like basketball on broomsticks with six hoops, isn't it."**"

"What's basketball?" asked James.

"It's a Muggle sport," Lily said.

"It's not as interesting as Quidditch, though," said Harry, "There's only one hoop and one ball, and you have to stay on the ground."

"**"What's basketball?" said Wood curiously. **

**"Never mind," said Harry quickly.**

**"Now, there's another player on each side who's called the Keeper-I'm Keeper for Gryffindor. I have to fly around our hoops and stop the other team from scoring."**

**"Three Chasers, one Keeper," said Harry, who was determined to remember it all. "And they play with the Quaffle. Okay, got that. So what are they for?" He pointed at the three balls left inside the box.**

**"I'll show you now," said Wood. "Take this." He handed Harry a small club, a bit like a short baseball bat.**

**"I'm going to show you what the Bludgers do," Wood said. "These two are the Bludgers." **

**He showed Harry two identical balls, jet black and slightly smaller than the red Quaffle. Harry noticed that they seemed to be straining to escape the straps holding them inside the box.**

**"Stand back," Wood warned Harry. He bent down and freed one of the Bludgers.**

**At once, the black ball rose high in the air and then pelted straight at Harry's face. Harry swung at it with the bat to stop it from breaking his nose, and sent it zigzagging away into the air**"

"Blimey, Prongslet, you'd make a fair Beater," said Sirius.

"**- it zoomed around their heads and then shot at Wood, who dived on top of it and managed to pin it to the ground.**

**"See." Wood panted, forcing the struggling Bludger back into the crate and strapping it down safely. "The Bludgers rocket around, trying to knock players off their brooms. That's why you have two Beaters on each team - the Weasley twins are ours - it's their job to protect their side from the Bludgers and try and knock them toward the other team. So - think you've got all that." **

**"Three Chasers try and score with the Quaffle; the Keeper guards the goal posts; the Beaters keep the Bludgers away from their team," Harry reeled off.**

**"Very good," said Wood.**

**"Er - have the Bludgers ever killed anyone." Harry asked, hoping he sounded offhand.**"

"Not at Hogwarts," said James.

"**"Never at Hogwarts. We've had a couple of broken jaws but nothing worse than that. Now, the last member of the team is the Seeker. That's you. And you don't have to worry about the Quaffle or the Bludgers" **

"**Unless they crack my head open." **

**"Don't worry, the Weasleys are more than a match for the Bludgers - I mean, they're like a pair of human Bludgers themselves." **

**Wood reached into the crate and took out the fourth and last ball.**

**Compared with the Quaffle and the Bludgers, it was tiny, about the size of a large walnut. It was bright gold and had little fluttering silver wings.**

**"This," said Wood, "is the Golden Snitch, and it's the most important ball of the lot. It's very hard to catch because it's so fast and difficult to see. It's the Seeker's job to catch it. You've got to weave in and out of the Chasers, Beaters, Bludgers, and Quaffle to get it before the other team's Seeker, because whichever Seeker catches the Snitch wins his team an extra hundred and fifty points, so they nearly always win.**"

"He makes it sound like that's the only important position on the team," frowned Sirius.

"That's because it sort of is," said Remus.

"**That's why Seekers get fouled so much. A game of Quidditch only ends when the Snitch is caught, so it can go on for ages - I think the record is three months, they had to keep bringing on substitutes so the players could get some sleep.****Well, that's it - any questions?" Harry shook his head. He understood what he had to do all right, it was doing it that was going to be the problem.**

**"We won't practice with the Snitch yet," said Wood, carefully shutting it back inside the crate, "it's too dark, we might lose it. Let's try you out with a few of these." He pulled a bag of ordinary golf balls out of his pocket and a few minutes later, he and Harry were up in the air, Wood throwing the golf balls as hard as he could in every direction for Harry to catch.**

**Harry didn't miss a single one,**"

"Wow!" Sirius whistled.

"**and Wood was delighted. After half an hour, night had really fallen and they couldn't carry on.**

**"That Quidditch cup will have our name on it this year," said Wood happily as they trudged back up to the castle. "I wouldn't be surprised if you turn out better than Charlie Weasley, and he could have played for England if he hadn't gone off chasing dragons."**

**Perhaps it was because he was now so busy, what with Quidditch practice three evenings a week on top of all his homework, but Harry could hardly believe it when he realized that he'd already been at Hogwarts two months. The castle felt more like home than Privet Drive ever had.**

**His lessons, too, were becoming more and more interesting now that they had mastered the basics.**

**On Halloween morning they woke to the delicious smell of baking pumpkin wafting through the corridors. Even better, Professor Flitwick announced in Charms that he thought they were ready to start making objects fly, something they had all been dying to try since they'd seen him make Neville's toad zoom around the classroom. Professor Flitwick put the class into pairs to practice. Harry's partner was Seamus Finnigan (which was a relief, because Neville had been trying to catch his eye).**"

"I really have to apologize for that later," Harry mumbled.

"**Ron, however, was to be working with Hermione Granger. It was hard to tell whether Ron or Hermione was angrier about this.**

**She hadn't spoken to either of them since the day Harry's broomstick had arrived.**

**"Now, don't forget that nice wrist movement we've been practising!" squeaked Professor Flitwick, perched on top of his pile of books as usual. "Swish and flick, remember, swish and flick. And saying the magic words properly is very important, too - never forget Wizard Baruffio, who said 's' instead of 'f' and found himself on the floor with a buffalo on his chest." **

**It was very difficult. Harry and Seamus swished and flicked, but the feather they were supposed to be sending skyward just lay on the desktop. Seamus got so impatient that he prodded it with his wand and set fire to it- Harry had to put it out with his hat.**"

Lily giggled.

"**Ron, at the next table, wasn't having much more luck.**

**"Wingardium Leviosa!" he shouted, waving his long arms like a windmill.**

**"You're saying it wrong," Harry heard Hermione snap. "It's Wing-gar-dium Levi-o-sa, make the 'gar' nice and long."**"

"Ron didn't like that," said Harry.

"**"You do it, then, if you're so clever," Ron snarled.**

**Hermione rolled up the sleeves of her gown, flicked her wand, and said, "Wingardium Leviosa!"**

**Their feather rose off the desk and hovered about four feet above their heads**.

**Oh, well done!" cried Professor Flitwick, clapping. "Everyone see here, Miss Granger's done it!" Ron was in a very bad mood by the end of the class. **

**"It's no wonder no one can stand her," he said to Harry as they pushed their way into the crowded corridor, "she's a nightmare, honestly. " Someone knocked into Harry as they hurried past him. It was Hermione.**

**Harry caught a glimpse of her face - and was startled to see that she was in tears.**

**"I think she heard you." **

**"So." said Ron, but he looked a bit uncomfortable. "She must've noticed she's got no friends." **

**Hermione didn't turn up for the next class and wasn't seen all afternoon. On their way down to the Great Hall for the Halloween feast, Harry and Ron overheard Parvati Patil telling her friend Lavender that Hermione was crying in the girls' bathroom and wanted to be left alone.**

**Ron looked still more awkward at this, but a moment later they had entered the Great Hall, where the Halloween decorations put Hermione out of their minds.**"

"Boys," Lily sighed.

"**A thousand live bats fluttered from the walls and ceiling while a thousand more swooped over the tables in low black clouds, making the candles in the pumpkins stutter. The feast appeared suddenly on the golden plates, as it had at the start-of-term banquet.**

**Harry was just helping himself to a baked potato when Professor Quirrell came sprinting into the hall, his turban askew and terror on his face.**

**Everyone stared as he reached Professor Dumbledore's chair, slumped against the table, and gasped, "Troll - in the dungeons - thought you ought to know."**"

Lily gasped, as she was quick to catch on that, "Hermione doesn't know."

"**He then sank to the floor in a dead faint.**

**There was an uproar. It took several purple firecrackers exploding from the end of Professor Dumbledore's wand to bring silence.**

**"Prefects," he rumbled, "lead your Houses back to the dormitories immediately!" **

**Percy was in his element.**

**"Follow me! Stick together, first years! No need to fear the troll if you follow my orders! Stay close behind me, now. Make way, first years coming through! Excuse me, I'm a prefect!" **

**"How could a troll get in?" Harry asked as they climbed the stairs.**

**"Don't ask me, they're supposed to be really stupid," said Ron. "Maybe Peeves let it in for a Halloween joke."**"

"Peeves wouldn't do that," said Sirius.

"**They passed different groups of people hurrying in different directions.**

**As they jostled their way through a crowd of confused Hufflepuffs, Harry suddenly grabbed Ron's arm.**

**"I've just thought - Hermione." **

**"What about her?" **

**"She doesn't know about the troll." Ron bit his lip.**

**"Oh, all right," he snapped. "But Percy'd better not see us." Ducking down, they joined the Hufflepuffs going the other way, slipped down a deserted side corridor, and hurried off toward the girls' bathroom. They had just turned the corner when they heard quick footsteps behind them.**

**"Percy!" hissed Ron, pulling Harry behind a large stone griffin.**

**Peering around it, however, they saw not Percy but Snape. He crossed the corridor and disappeared from view.**

**"What's he doing?" Harry whispered. "Why isn't he down in the dungeons with the rest of the teachers?" **

**"Search me."**

**Quietly as possible, they crept along the next corridor after Snape's fading footsteps.**

**"He's heading for the third floor," Harry said, but Ron held up his hand.**

**"Can you smell something?" Harry sniffed and a foul stench reached his nostrils, a mixture of old socks and the kind of public toilet no one seems to clean.**"

"Eww," Lily grimaced.

"**And then they heard it - a low grunting, and the shuffling footfalls of gigantic feet. Ron pointed - at the end of a passage to the left, something huge was moving toward them. They shrank into the shadows and watched as it emerged into a patch of moonlight.**

**It was a horrible sight. Twelve feet tall, its skin was a dull, granite grey, its great lumpy body like a boulder with its small bald head perched on top like a coconut. It had short legs thick as tree trunks with flat, horny feet. The smell coming from it was incredible. It was holding a huge wooden club, which dragged along the floor because its arms were so long.**"

"Harry James Potter, get out of there now!" Lily shrieked.

Harry winced, "Mum, if I died I won't be sitting here."

"**The troll stopped next to a doorway and peered inside. It waggled its long ears, making up its tiny mind, then slouched slowly into the room.**

**"The keys in the lock," Harry muttered. "We could lock it in." **

**"Good idea," said Ron nervously.**

**They edged toward the open door, mouths dry, praying the troll wasn't about to come out of it. With one great leap, Harry managed to grab the key, slam the door, and lock it.**

"**Yes!" Flushed with their victory, they started to run back up the passage, but as they reached the corner they heard something that made their hearts stop - a high, petrified scream - and it was coming from the chamber they'd just chained up.**

**"Oh, no," said Ron, pale as the Bloody Baron.**

**"It's the girls' bathroom!" Harry gasped.**

**"Hermione!" they said together.**"

"You idiots," Remus said, paler than the moon.

"**It was the last thing they wanted to do, but what choice did they have?**"

"Go get a teacher," Lily grabbed Harry's arm tightly.

"Hermione might've died," Harry pointed out.

"**Wheeling around, they sprinted back to the door and turned the key, fumbling in their panic. Harry pulled the door open and they ran inside.**

**Hermione Granger was shrinking against the wall opposite, looking as if she was about to faint. The troll was advancing on her, knocking the sinks off the walls as it went.**

**"Confuse it!" Harry said desperately to Ron, and, seizing a tap, he threw it as hard as he could against the wall.**"

"Good plan," Sirius piped up nervously.

"**The troll stopped a few feet from Hermione. It lumbered around, blinking stupidly, to see what had made the noise. It's mean little eyes saw Harry. It hesitated, then made for him instead, lifting its club as it went.**

**"Oy, pea-brain!" yelled Ron from the other side of the chamber, and he threw a metal pipe at it. The troll didn't even seem to notice the pipe hitting its shoulder, but it heard the yell and paused again, turning its ugly snout toward Ron instead, giving Harry time to run around it.**

**"Come on, run, run!" Harry yelled at Hermione, trying to pull her toward the door, but she couldn't move, she was still flat against the wall, her mouth open with terror.**

**The shouting and the echoes seemed to be driving the troll berserk. It roared again and started toward Ron, who was nearest and had no way to escape.**

**Harry then did something that was both very brave and very stupid:**

**He took a great running jump and managed to fasten his arms around the troll's neck from behind. The troll couldn't feel Harry hanging there, but even a troll will notice if you stick a long bit of wood up its nose, and Harry's wand had still been in his hand when he'd jumped - it had gone straight up one of the troll's nostrils.**

**Howling with pain, the troll twisted and flailed its club, with Harry clinging on for dear life; any second, the troll was going to rip him off or catch him a terrible blow with the club.**"

Lily tightened her hold on Harry's arm.

"**Hermione had sunk to the floor in fright; Ron pulled out his own wand - not knowing what he was going to do he heard himself cry the first spell that came into his head: "Wingardium Leviosa!"**"

"You can't do that spell," James moaned.

"**The club flew suddenly out of the troll's hand, rose high, high up into the air, turned slowly over - and dropped, with a sickening crack, onto its owner's head. The troll swayed on the spot and then fell flat on its face, with a thud that made the whole room tremble.**"

"You did it!" Sirius cheered.

"**Harry got to his feet. He was shaking and out of breath. Ron was standing there with his wand still raised, staring at what he had done.**

**It was Hermione who spoke first.**

**"Is it – dead?"**

"**I don't think so," said Harry, "I think it's just been knocked out." He bent down and pulled his wand out of the troll's nose. It was covered in what looked like lumpy grey glue.**

**"Urgh - troll boogers." He wiped it on the troll's trousers.**"

"Ew!" Lily groaned in disgust, letting go of Harry's arm.

"**A sudden slamming and loud footsteps made the three of them look up.**

**They hadn't realized what a racket they had been making, but of course, someone downstairs must have heard the crashes and the troll's roars. A moment later, Professor McGonagall had come bursting into the room, closely followed by Snape, with Quirrell bringing up the rear. Quirrell took one look at the troll, let out a faint whimper, and sat quickly down on a toilet, clutching his heart.**

**Snape bent over the troll. Professor McGonagall was looking at Ron and Harry. Harry had never seen her look so angry. Her lips were white.**

**Hopes of winning fifty points for Gryffindor faded quickly from Harry's mind.**

**"What on earth were you thinking of?" said Professor McGonagall, with cold fury in her voice. Harry looked at Ron, who was still standing with his wand in the air. "You're lucky you weren't killed. Why aren't you in your dormitory?" Snape gave Harry a swift, piercing look. Harry looked at the floor. He wished Ron would put his wand down.**

**Then a small voice came out of the shadows.**

**"Please, Professor McGonagall - they were looking for me." **

**"Miss Granger!" Hermione had managed to get to her feet at last.**

"**I went looking for the troll because I - I thought I could deal with it on my own - you know, because I've read all about them." Ron dropped his wand. Hermione Granger, telling a downright lie to a teacher.**"

"Impossible," James said.

"**"If they hadn't found me, I'd be dead now. Harry stuck his wand up its nose and Ron knocked it out with its own club. They didn't have time to come and fetch anyone. It was about to finish me off when they arrived." Harry and Ron tried to look as though this story wasn't new to them.**

**"Well - in that case..." said Professor McGonagall, staring at the three of them, "Miss Granger, you foolish girl, how could you think of tackling a mountain troll on your own." Hermione hung her head. Harry was speechless. Hermione was the last person to do anything against the rules, and here she was, pretending she had, to get them out of trouble. It was as if Snape had started handing out sweets.**

**"Miss Granger, five points will be taken from Gryffindor for this," said Professor McGonagall. "I'm very disappointed in you. If you're not hurt at all, you'd better get off to Gryffindor tower. Students are finishing the feast in their houses." Hermione left.**

**Professor McGonagall turned to Harry and Ron.**

**"Well, I still say you were lucky, but not many first years could have taken on a full-grown mountain troll. You each win Gryffindor five points. Professor Dumbledore will be informed of this. You may go." **

**They hurried out of the chamber and didn't speak at all until they had climbed two floors up. It was a relief to be away from the smell of the troll, quite apart from anything else.**

**"We should have gotten more than ten points," Ron grumbled.**

**"Five, you mean, once she's taken off Hermione's." **

**"Good of her to get us out of trouble like that," Ron admitted. "Mind you, we did save her."**"

"Yes, but I realize know that she wouldn't have needed saving if we didn't lock her in with it," said Harry.

"**"She might not have needed saving if we hadn't locked the thing in with her," Harry reminded him.**

**They had reached the portrait of the Fat Lady.**

**"Pig snout," they said and entered.**

**The common room was packed and noisy. Everyone was eating the food that had been sent up. Hermione, however, stood alone by the door, waiting for them. There was a very embarrassed pause. Then, none of them looking at each other, they all said "Thanks," and hurried off to get plates.**

**But from that moment on, Hermione Granger became their friend. There are some things you can't share without ending up liking each other, and knocking out a twelve-foot mountain troll is one of them.**"

"That's how you became friends," Lily asked.

"Yeah."

Lily then had the book to Remus.


End file.
